On Monday, 19th District Court Judge Ralph Strother will hear arguments to disqualify the McLennan County District Attorney's Office from prosecuting at least two upcoming Twin Peaks trials.
Strother will hear motions filed on behalf of bikers Billy McRee and Jorge Daniel Salinas at 10 a.m. on Jan. 22.
"The witnesses referenced in the motion are under subpoena and are expected to testify," Salinas' attorney Brian Bouffard said in a statement. "Predictably, Abel Reyna and the various DA witnesses are seeking to quash their subpoenas and thereby avoid testifying under oath, and that issue will also be addressed on Monday."
In his motion, Bouffard argued Reyna would be called as a defense witness during Salinas' trial, which he said should disqualify him from prosecuting the case. Bouffard and other defense lawyers have long argued that Reyna pushed for the arrests of 177 people with "fill-in-the-name" arrest affidavits after the 2015 Waco shootout, despite hesitation from law enforcement.
"Mr. Reyna personally orchestrated the arrest of Mr. Salinas, and indeed, all of the Twin Peaks defendants," the motion said. "Moreover, Mr. Reyna did so in disregard of the collective wisdom of all three assistant police chiefs and the two lead detectives on the scene at Twin Peaks."
Bouffard argued Salinas was an innocent man who was being prosecuted because of "Reyna's political opportunism." And, he said Reyna had a financial interest in winning the Twin Peaks trials because he was named as a defendant in federal lawsuits filed by motorcyclists over "unlawful arrests" at Twin Peaks.
"The truth is clear - the civil rights of Jorge Salinas, Billy McRee, and dozens upon dozens of other innocent motorcyclists, are being sacrificed on the altar of Abel Reyna's political ambition and increasing desire to avoid the unpleasant personal and financial consequences of his behavior in these cases," Bouffard said. "He and his assistants must be disqualified, and a special prosecutor must be appointed to take over the Twin Peaks cases and honor the solemn oath to do justice - the same oath that Abel Reyna took, but now ignores."
Reyna has repeatedly denied the accusations against him by Twin Peaks defense lawyers.
In response to previous accusations of cocaine use and an FBI investigation, Reyna released the following statement back in December.
“Yet another example of a Twin Peaks defense lawyer digging up a disgruntled former employee with more ridiculous allegations and trying to smear my name and disparage the work of the people of this office," Reyna said at the time. "Now they are relying on the word of a person who was fired from this office for being untruthful. It’s shameful, but not unexpected.”
Reyna already voluntarily recused himself and his office from prosecuting biker Matthew Clendennen's trial in order to avoid the appearance of impropriety because Reyna and two assistant district attorneys testified during a pre-trial hearing that could make them considered material witnesses in that case.