News Roundup: Biker Gangs, Ice Cream, & Rain

In this week's News Roundup, an influx of biker gangs brings violence with it; rain closes Barton Springs; Kyle PD union head is suspended indefinitely; Blue Bell Creameries announces layoffs; and more.

• Nine people were killed and 18 injured in Waco during a deadly gunfight between biker gang members. Law enforcement had been monitoring a meeting between the Bandidos, the Cossacks, and three other affiliated gangs at the Twin Peaks restaurant at the Central Texas Marketplace. A fight broke out inside the restaurant and spilled out into the parking lot. Officers became involved after they came under fire, with all casualties being members of the gangs. In addition to the fatalities and injuries, several members – nearly 200 at last count – were arrested, some on weapons charges, others for making threats against law enforcement, as well as engaging in organized crime. Calling the scene "gruesome", Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton told reporters “in 34 years of law enforcement, this is the most violent crime scene I have ever been involved in." Swanton has also questioned why the restaurant management allowed the gathering to happen in their premises.

This is not the first incident involving the two gangs: In 2013, Bandidos Abilene chapter president Curtis Jack Lewis was arrested in connection with the stabbing of two Cossacks. The Bandidos are also classified as an outlaw motorcycle gang by the U.S. Department of Justice. – Richard Whittaker

• Kyle Police union head Jesse Espinoza was indefinitely suspended (civil service terminology for “terminated”) on Friday after an investigation concluded concerning allegations that he once accepted money from Louisiana anesthesiologist Glen Hurlston in exchange for sensitive personal information regarding Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett, who himself was placed on administrative leave May 6 while Kyle officials investigated Espinoza’s case.

At least, those are the charges that brought him in front acting police chief Charles Edge on Friday. According to the Hays Free Press, which cited sources close to the investigation, Espinoza was actually canned for insubordination and being untruthful through the investigation. John Moritz, a spokesman for the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, which represented Espinoza during his hearing, said that he could not speak to the specifics of the case, but that Espinoza will appeal his termination and that he’s confident that “once this gets into real live independent review, non-biased, we believe the facts will show” that his client did no wrong.

As detailed in last week’s paper, Espinoza and Barnett have a history of discord dating back to the union head’s public support of APD supervisor Joseph Muñoz over Barnett when the position of Kyle police chief was up for grabs in 2011. Espinoza befriended Hurlston – a former resident of Princeton, Texas, whose ex-wife Suzanne Besse, carried out a longstanding affair with Barnett while he was the police chief in the Dallas suburb – at the same time that Hurlston began efforts to file a lawsuit against Barnett alleging intimidation and harassment. Those with close knowledge of the situation question the legitimacy of accusations that Espinoza provided sensitive information concerning Barnett to Hurlston, though it’s common knowledge that he did accept money from the doctor that went toward helping pay for cancer treatment for his son.

Kyle's offices were closed this weekend, thus barring us from learning whether or not Barnett would return to active duty while Espinoza underwent his appeal. – Chase Hoffberger

• Frozen Desserts: Still reeling from a Listeria contamination that was linked to the deaths of three people in Kansas and has halted all production indefinitely, the Blue Bell Creameries company announced May 15 the “agonizing decision” to lay off 1,400 full and part-time workers (37% of the 3,900 person workforce). Employees deemed “essential” will continue to work but at reduced pay, and a third group will be placed on “partially paid furlough,” with the expectation that they will be called back to work in stages, as production resumes. The company said in a press release: “The process of cleaning and improving Blue Bell’s four production plants is going to take longer than the company initially anticipated, especially at the main plant in Brenham where major repairs and equipment replacements are expected. There is no firm timeline for when Blue Bell will begin producing ice cream again. When production resumes, it will be limited and phased in over time.” The economic damage doesn’t stop there; Blue Bell has suspended operations and laid off employees at distribution centers in Phoenix, Tucson, Denver, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Wichita, Louisville, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Raleigh, Charlotte (N.C.), Columbia (S.C.), and Richmond (Va.). – Michael King

• Last week, a group of Wheatsville Co-op employees calling themselves the Wheatsville Staff Solidarity Collective launched a campaign to bring a living wage to Wheatsville. The co-op, which is known to boycott selling products that fall short of certain ethical standards – most recently, those of the anti-birth control company Eden Organics – pays its workers a starting wage ($9/hour) that is less than Austin's living wage ($11.38/hour), according to the collective's Change.org petition. For more on this story, check back later this week. – Amy Kamp

• Another weekend of heavy rains may not mean an official end to the ongoing drought, but the Highland lakes continue to see the benefits. All six lakes have risen over the last week, with Lake Travis up two feet from 630.06 feet above mean sea level on May 10 to 632.3 ft msl on May 17. With overnight runoff, the Lower Colorado River Authority expects it to break 633 ft msl by May 18, meaning it will reach 41% of capacity.

However, the rain is bad news for swimmers, as the city has announced that Barton Springs pool will be closed due to flooding until further notice. – R.W.

• Tribune Talks: The Texas Tribune has announced the first round of speakers for the 2015 Tribune Festival, Oct. 16-18 on the UT-Austin campus. The featured speakers in the weekend of rapid-fire policy panels include: Texas House Speaker Joe "Survivor" Straus; Comptroller Glenn "Sales Tax" Hegar; Agriculture Commissioner Sid “Freedom to Fry” Miller; Railroad Commission Chair Christi Craddick; Gwen Ifill of the PBS NewsHour; incoming UT-Austin President Gregory Fenves; and Austin Mayor Steve Adler. More than 200 speakers will participate in the three-day festival, featuring 10 programming tracks related to various public policy issues. – M.K.

• The Line Forms Here: Saying “It’s time for somebody else,” Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton told the Statesman last week that he has no plans to run for re-election when his current term expires at the end of 2016. Shortly thereafter, already lurking replacement candidates began letting it be known they’re running or considering a run. The names that have surfaced thus far: Jim Sylvester, Hamilton’s chief deputy, who’s been with the TCSO since 1986; Sgt. Don Rios, 23-year veteran, who formally announced on May 13th; Sgt. John Sisson (Pct. 1 Constable’s Office), 30-year APD veteran, defeated by Hamilton in 2012. Pct. 3 Constable Sally Hernandez also told the Chronicle she is “seriously considering” a run, although state (“resign to run”) law would prohibit a declaration before December. The Democratic primary is in March, 2016. – M.K.

• Republican control resulted in the failure of a House bill by Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, that would have placed the decision to raise the minimum wage to $10.10/hour in the hands of voters. The GOP majority also voted down an amendment to the proposed ballot measure that would have ensured equal pay for women. The bill needed 100 votes to pass but fell short on a 92-50 party line vote on Thursday. Texas has not raised its minimum wage since 2009 when federal mandate required it; today, 400,000 Texans are earning at or less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour. Texas is one of 21 states paying at the federal minimum wage and one of eight states that doesn’t have equal pay protections. – Brittany Shulman