Five stories that have North Texas talking: indictments in an ongoing Texas biker rivalry; the Texas trooper who arrested Sandra Bland is charged with perjury; PETA honors the McKinney Fire Department; and more.
National leaders of the Bandidos biker gang have been indicted on charges accusing them of racketeering and waging a deadly "war" on the rival Cossacks gang. The indictment was announced Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Antonio. The accusations focus on a rivalry that came under renewed attention in May, when a meeting of biker groups in Waco ended in gunfire that left nine people dead. The indictment accuses John Portillo, the Bandidos' national vice president, of using dues and donations to pay legal expenses of its members days after the Waco shooting. Portillo, national president Jeffrey Pike and national sergeant-at-arms Justin Cole Forster are charged with racketeering, drug distribution and other crimes. The indictment also says they sanctioned killings. A Bandidos representative couldn't immediately be reached. [Associated Press]
- A Texas trooper has been charged with perjury related to the Sandra Bland traffic stop. 鈥淎 Waller County grand jury has indicted Department of Public Safety trooper Brian Encinia on a perjury charge, special prosecutor Darrell Jordan confirmed Wednesday. The panel met Wednesday to continue considering charges in connection with the arrest and death of Sandra Bland, after deciding in December not to indict anyone for her death. Bland, a black woman from Illinois, was found hanged in a Waller County Jail cell on July 13, 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. Her death, ruled a suicide, galvanized loved ones, social justice organizations and critics across the country, raising questions about race and policing, jail safety standards and mental health awareness.鈥� [Texas Tribune]
- GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio appeared in Dallas Wednesday afternoon. 鈥淗is aim was not at the crowded field of Republicans he has to beat to win his party鈥檚 nomination in the coming months. Instead, he aimed his fire at the Democratic front-runner. He does not care for Hillary Clinton. 鈥� Rubio attacked President Obama with equal vigor, and vowed that on day one he鈥檇 roll back every executive action Obama鈥檚 taken. 鈥� Rubio did not call out other Republicans by name, even though he鈥檚 been sparring in recent days with fellow Senator Ted Cruz. Cruz has blasted Rubio for being inconsistent on immigration. Rubio helped draft a reform bill in 2013 that would have created a pathway to citizenship for people in the country illegally. But times, he said, have changed.鈥�
- PETA honored the McKinney Fire Department after members At a McKinney City Council meeting, PETA gave the department its 鈥渇or using its know-how, bravery, and compassion to save Duke and the man who loves him.鈥� McKinney Firefighter Del Ray Pope rescued Duke, who licked him afterward 鈥� a that captured in a PETA says the rescuers 鈥渟et an example of kindness.鈥� PETA sent the fire department a box of vegan cookies.
- New video of the tornado that hit Garland and Rowlett has been released. 鈥淭he video was collected from five cameras the NTTA has posted near the intersection, all of which were being monitored as the storm approached. NTTA spokesman Michael Rey says the video was withheld from the public鈥檚 view until the Texas Department of Public Safety concluded its investigation. But that didn鈥檛 take long: Trooper Lonny Haschel says when it was determined the fatalities weren鈥檛 the result of crashes, the investigation was turned over to Garland police. Barineau says that investigation is ongoing.鈥� [The Dallas Morning News]
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
