He also told jurors he has never been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor crime, other than traffic violations. Among the evidence presented to the jury of Martin’s criminal record was a May 2015 arrest in connection with the fatal shooting in Waco involving the Cossacks, Bandidos and law enforcement.
COSSACKS MC OKLAHOMA TRIAL
Martin told jurors during the trial that he didn’t believe the Cossacks was a criminal street gang. Martin was also entered in the Texas Gang Database by the McLennan County Sehriff’s Office and DPS in Waco. “The only thing I do have is just intelligence,” the deputy said.Ī member of the Lubbock Anti-Gang Center, who served as the state’s gang expert at trial, told jurors that the Cossacks is an outlaw motorcycle gang that operates nationwide engaging in assaults, threats of violence, intimidation and illegal firearms possession.Īmong the criteria used by Texas law enforcement to determine gang membership include a judicial finding and self-identification by a person during a judicial proceeding. However, he said he did not know of any criminal charges filed against a Cossack members in the area. He told jurors he was aware the Cossacks Motorcycle Club is a criminal street gang actively engaging in criminal activity in Lubbock.
However, justices ruled only on the insufficiency argument, saying his trial counsel failed to preserve the other grounds, which challenged the constitutionality of the statute, for his appeal by not raising them at his trial.ĭuring Martin’s trial, prosecutors called on the arresting deputy, who told jurors he determined Martin was a member of the Cossacks based on Martin’s admission during the stop and his attire, which was the vest bearing the gang’s black and yellow colors. Martin appealed his conviction citing 15 grounds, the last one citing insufficient evidence to show he met the criteria of a criminal street gang member prohibited from possessing a firearm. Under the statute, it is illegal for members of a criminal street gang to possess weapons. The corporal arrested Martin, who was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on the Class A misdemeanor. The unlawful carrying of a weapon charge includes a provision that prohibits members of a criminal street gang from possessing a firearm. Martin admitted to being a member of the Cossacks motorcycle club, which is recognized by Texas law enforcement as a criminal street gang, defined by statute as “three or more persons have a common identifying sign or symbol or an identifiable leadership who continuously or regularly associate in the commission of criminal activities.”Ī gang member is one of three or more persons who continuously or regularly associate in the commission of criminal activities, according to statute.
COSSACKS MC OKLAHOMA LICENSE
Martin’s conviction stemmed from an April 17, 2018, traffic stop by a corporal with the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office for traffic violations including speeding, making an unsafe lane change and having a partially obscured license plate.ĭuring the stop Martin told the corporal he had a weapon in his vest, which bore the Cossacks name and colors.
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