Habeas Filed in|Waco Biker Shootout

AUSTIN, Texas (CN) - A man jailed after the Waco biker shootout claims Texas is holding him under $1 million bond merely because he was there, and wearing a motorcycle club patch.

Jimmy Lee Pond filed a writ of habeas corpus in Travis County Court last Wednesday challenging his confinement. Pond claims he was one of at least 172 "innocent individuals" who were arrested en masse on May 17 at the Twin Peaks Restaurant in Waco.

Pond and others were charged with "engaging in organized criminal activity."

Pond says he was merely "standing near an informational booth on motorcycle safety legislation" at the back of the restaurant - not in the front parking lot where the shootings happened.

Nine people were killed and at 18 injured in the melee, when the Twin Peaks "Bike Night" event turned into a fight between rival bike gangs, the Bandidos and Cossacks, and police.

Pond says he did nothing illegal and was not part of a street gang.

"That Mr. Pond bore the patch of a motorcycle club proves only that - his possession of a motorcycle club patch," the 4-page petition states.

"Mr. Pond's actions are inconsistent with that of a street gang. A street gang does not set up a booth to review legislation and transportation safety. ... A member of a street gang takes acts that prove his or her intent to further the criminal activities of the street gang."

It adds: "The State of Texas will likely argue that Mr. Pond's location near the motorcycle safety booth was an innocuous activity that aided in, assisted with, or led to events giving rise to the allegations listed in the complaint [against Pond]. Applying the State's logic, every waiter, bus boy, manager, and hostess at the restaurant engaged in innocuous, yet illegal activity by serving food and drinks to anyone riding a motorcycle and allowing anyone with a motorcycle to remain on the premises."

The Twin Peaks Restaurant, which the corporation has closed, was in the Central Texas Marketplace shopping center in Waco, flanked by chain outlets such as Cabela's Outpost, Kohls and Best Buy.

The shootings forced the closure of the entire shopping center for two days while police investigated.

A lawsuit has been filed against Twin Peaks by the next-door business Don Carlos Mexican Restaurant, which was designated a crime scene during the investigation. It seeks $1 million for lost profits and property damage.

Pond seeks his immediate release from McLennan County Jail, or his bond reduced to a reasonable amount. His attorney George Lobb did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor would the McLennan County District Attorney's Office comment.

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