Detectives seek bullet lodged in Waco, Texas, shooting suspect's body
WACO, Texas-- Following the violent May 17 shootout between rival biker gangs that left nine dead, McLellan County detectives say one injured biker managed to slip away from the chaos without being identified or arrested.
According to a search warrant filed this week, first reported by the Waco Tribune, investigators will extract a bullet from the arm of James "Spaz" Anderson.
Anderson, 53, died last week in a motorcycle accident in Nebraska.
The search warrant says a Longview police detective received information that Anderson was involved in the shooting at the Twin Peaks restaurant and found him recovering from his wounds at a home south of Longview. The search warrant makes no time reference.
Longview police refused to answer any timeline questions, citing standard practice of not commenting on an active investigation by another agency.
Houston-based defense attorney Paul Looney said the search warrant is a necessary step to learn where the shots came from on May 17.
"It's certainly something we need to do to round out the investigation," Looney said.
He represents other bikers arrested following the violence and says there's been an on-going interest in finding out more information about Anderson.
"We've been wondering where he was and why nobody was on him," Looney said.
There were 177 bikers detained after the shooting killed nine bikers and injured 18 others. The affidavit for the search warrant says Anderson admitted being at the scene and managed to get away without being identified or arrested.
So now, a judge has ordered a search of his body to find the bullet detectives believe is still lodged in his left arm.
"It does kind of distress me that they're just now getting on top of this guy, because I think this guy has been a central figure in my investigation from the beginning," Looney said.
The attorney says he'll reveal more about his theory on Anderson's involvement in the Texas shooting when cases go to trial, but adds a search warrant for a bullet from a dead man's arm tells him investigators are long way from being finished.
"Better late than never, but goodness gracious, sure would have thought they'd be on top of this long time ago," Looney said.
All bikers arrested were charged with organized criminal activity. None of the bikers currently remained jailed, and the case has yet to be presented to a grand jury, according to the Waco Tribune.