Bandido gang members appear in court
Two of the three men charged in connection to the deadly Red River shooting met in front of a judge for the first time today.
They're facing multiple charges, that range from drug possession to entering into a licensed liquor establishment with a gun. However, none were directly directed to the shootout itself.
"Normally, I don't detain people for possession of a controlled substance or for carrying a gun into a bar. And although I understand that there are some unique circumstances here," said Judge Jeffery Shannon.
The unique circumstances are keeping 39-year-old Mathew Charles Jackson and 41-year-old Chris Garcia behind bars.
The pair appeared virtually in front of a judge, investigators say the pair are members of the Bandidos.
Police say members of their gang got into a shootout with another gang, the water dogs on Saturday.
Three people were killed, and five others were wounded.
According to police records, Garcia was among the wounded. Police say he tried to pass a bag of cocaine to his wife in the hospital. Police arrested him for drug possession and tampering with evidence.
Jackson is charged with carrying a gun into a licensed liquor establishment and possession of a controlled substance, in this case, meth.
Each charge carries up to a max of 18 months in prison.
None of these charges are directly connected to the shooting.
State prosecutors did not file the proper paperwork connecting either suspect to the shootout. So they asked the judge for more time.
" We're working with several different agencies to identify witnesses and additional evidence that may be presented at that hearing. So I'd ask that we have ten days for a concurrent preliminary hearing and pretrial detention," said Taina Colon the state prosecutor in the hearing.
The public defender, Aleks Kostich countered that since the paperwork was not filed he would like to see the defendants released at the next hearing scheduled for Thursday.
The judge agreed with the public defender.
"If I don't have to file a copy of that motion in my hand in 10 minutes, I'm going to proceed with first appearances on both cases," said Shannon.
However, after multiple technical issues and for some reason officers removed both Jackson and Garcia from their holding cells early.
The judge could not move forward.
They both remain in custody at this time.
Jacob Castillo, a Waterdogs member, is charged with murder in the Red River shooting and will make his first court appearance on Wednesday, June 7. Castillo claimed self defense after an altercation with Damian Breaux, who was killed in the shooting, according to court documents.