Cossacks and bandidos
The officer, who asked to remain anonymous as he is not officially part of the investigation, cautioned that eyewitness testimony can be flawed and has to be considered along with evidence from the scene and video captured by surveillance cameras. "He could have left out some incriminating information," the officer said, "but it sounds like he is putting out the real deal." The Bandidos have not responded to requests for comment.Ī law enforcement officer familiar with the clash at Twin Peaks and well-versed in motorcycle gangs said Ledbetter seems to be telling the truth. "Red Bull" was shot in the neck.Īnother Cossack named "Voodoo" performed CPR amid the gunfire.īandanas were stuffed in bullet holes to try to stop the bleeding.īy the time the shooting ended, Ledbetter had managed to crawl into the restaurant and take cover behind the bar. "Country" was shot in the jaw and dragged into a bathroom for safety. Cliff, the prospect without a nickname, also was shot, and he is now paralyzed from the waist down. A guy named Paul Miller got shot in the gut. "Rattle Can" was shot four times, including twice in the neck. In other cases, Ledbetter is not sure who fired the shots. "Dog" was shot by the same guy who shot Diesel. Ledbetter saw at least one Cossack, nicknamed "Side Track," fire back at the rival bikers, but he was quickly killed. Then came more gunfire from Bandidos' supporters, as well as police, who seemed to instantly be on the scene. Ledbetter could hardly process what he was seeing.
He wore a motorcycle vest with the name of some club that begins with the letters "VA," and Ledbetter said he also wore a baseball cap, turned backward, that read, "Support Your Local Bandidos." Tucked in the back of Diesel's waistband was a pistol, one he legally carried, but he never drew it.Ī man with a handgun came and stood over him. He watched his father dive to the pavement and seek cover between two bikes. The man had pulled out a gun at a fistfight.Ĭossacks dove for cover and tumbled all over each other as they rushed for the safety of Twin Peaks. The biker then whipped out a handgun, pressed it to Chain's chest and pulled the trigger. He threw a punch at a Cossack who went by the nickname "Chain." Chain dodged it, threw a punch of his own.
"You're (expletive) right we will," responded Big O.īut a biker from the Bandidos-affiliated group said his leader had been disrespected. The biker said he rode over Cliff's foot because he was in the way of reaching a parking area.Īfter a few heated words, the biker vowed they would settle the matter after lunch. He was so new he didn't have a nickname.Ī Cossack known as "Big O" led the way and demanded an explanation.
The Cossacks, including Diesel and Ledbetter, surged from the patio, jumping over a small fence, and scrambled to protect the prospect named Cliff. One of those at the front of the arriving cyclists rolled toward a provisional member of the Cossacks, who was in the parking lot, and drove over his foot. "We're done," Ledbetter thought to himself. The clubs, farm teams for the Bandidos, wore black leather motorcycle vests with patches of red and gold - the colors of the Bandidos - to show their allegiance. He said it was his understanding that the Bandidos had given permission, saying the Cossacks had earned it by being around since 1969.Īs Ledbetter and his father sat on the patio of Twin Peaks, in the corner of a new outdoor mall, support groups for the Bandidos started rolling in. The Cossacks started wearing the Texas patches back in August, Ledbetter said.
#COSSACKS AND BANDIDOS PATCH#
The Bandidos have long considered the patch as marking their territory, and the only riders who can wear them must have Bandidos approval. There had been simmering tension between the two groups, particularly about the use of a patch, known as a bottom rocker, which says "Texas" and is worn on the back of cycling vests. Good news, Ledbetter thought, as the Bandidos weren't coming in force. They were not even wearing their leather riding vests, known as cuts, but T-shirts with "Bandidos" on the back. He and his father - whose real name was Danny Boyett - and the other Cossacks arrived before the Bandidos, considered one of the nations's largest and most powerful motorcycle gangs.īut when the Bandidos did arrive, Ledbetter, also known as "Criddick," said there were only 11 of them, and they were riding in three pickups, not on motorcycles. Ledbetter, a former bouncer who was working as a Hyundai mechanic, had his right arm in a sling that day, the result of a recent accident. The other person to die was not affiliated with either the Cossacks or Bandidos.