FELONY CHARGES FOR WALLER DRIVER

WALLER 6 UPDATE: November 20, 2021

The teenage son of Jason and Jennifer Arnold, who, with their permission, was working his mother and father’ F-250 diesel truck when he plowed into our 6 purchasers whereas they have been using their bicycles on September twenty fifth, 2021 in Waller, Texas, was launched to his mother and father on Thursday afternoon (11/18/21) after being held in custody for 10 days in a juvenile detention middle. 

The juvenile prison system in Texas typically reserves beds in its detention facilities for people who're flight dangers, do not need mother and father or guardians to intently supervise them, and/or have a documented historical past of different harmful prison behaviors. 

Whereas we wholly agree that this driver shouldn't be in a position to threaten public security or trigger anybody else any doubtlessly life-threatening hurt, we additionally acknowledge that the particular prosecutor and Waller County D.A. do not need the flexibility to alter the system or bend its guidelines. As a result of the suitable authorities and officers have been in a position to do their jobs with out interference, we're glad to report that Charlie (Huber Thomas & Marcelle, LLP / Bike Legislation Texas), Peter (Wilborn Legislation, LLC and Founding Lawyer of Bike Legislation Nationwide), and I nonetheless really feel happy with their efforts and the integrity of their prison investigation. 

Upon his launch to his mother and father’ custody yesterday afternoon, the courtroom has ordered the Arnolds’ son to give up his driver’s license and adjust to a 6-6 curfew. He should not violate any provision of his launch whereas awaiting trial and should not function a motorcar or depart the nation with out courtroom approval. 

We'll proceed to share updates in actual time as we're in a position. At the moment we do not need a schedule for the upcoming prison proceedings. 

On behalf of our purchasers who proceed to precise their gratitude on your ongoing concern, we want to thanks on your unwavering assist. We're honored to be a part of such a dedicated and resilient group and vastly respect you all.

Please get pleasure from the remainder of your weekend and keep protected,

Rachael Maney, Nationwide Director ([email protected])

WALLER 6 UPDATE: November 8, 2021

SIX COUNTS OF FELONY ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON

The 16 yr outdated son of Waller, TX’s Jason and Jennifer Arnold who used his mother and father’ black F-250 to plow into our 6 bicycle owner purchasers and mates who have been greater than 70 miles right into a coaching journey in preparation for Ironman Texas on the morning of Saturday, September twenty fifth, 2021 on Enterprise 290 East in Waller, Texas, has formally been INDICTED AND TAKEN INTO CUSTODY ON SIX COUNTS OF FELONY AGGRAVATED ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON — one for every of the folks he virtually killed along with his reckless and violent habits behind the wheel.

READ OUR INITIAL REPORT HERE.

Our purchasers have been eagerly awaiting this affirmation from the Waller County District Lawyer’s workplace for what appears like an eternity. Now we have been eagerly awaiting this information for what appears like an eternity. And whereas it’s been difficult to stay quiet throughout these 6 lengthy weeks of ready, we can not specific sufficient admiration for the 6 victims Bike Legislation represents on this horrific crash.

THE WALLER SIX

First, we're joyful to report that our purchasers proceed to make developments (regardless of how small) on the lengthy highway of bodily restoration forward, and that their cheap natures and respect for the method have allowed the prison investigators and us to do our jobs. Our purchasers have proven us nothing wanting exceptional persistence and braveness during the last month and a half.

They deserve recognition and have graciously requested that we thanks all for the outpouring of continued concern and assist.

PROSECUTORS STEP UP

We share in our group’s frustration, and perceive with no confusion why cyclists who journey in Waller, throughout Texas, and throughout our nation have been skeptical and conditioned to count on little if not nothing from legislation enforcement and prosecutors in response to this incident and the overwhelming variety of different bicycle crashes brought on by negligent, aggressive, and prison motorists.

Nonetheless, representing lawyer Charlie Thomas (Huber Thomas & Marcelle, LLP / Bike Legislation Texas), his co-counsel Peter Wilborn (Wilborn Legislation, LLC / Founding Lawyer of Bike Legislation Nationwide), and I consider that elected Waller County D.A. Elton Mathis and Particular Prosecutor Warren Diepraam have finished their jobs to ship what's an actual step in direction of justice given what’s attainable and what’s not throughout the Texas prison justice system- a system that doesn't favor folks on bikes and customarily offers far an excessive amount of room for police and different prosecutors to endorse the marginalization of cyclists and different weak highway customers via their historic inaction.

The driving force who induced this hurt is below the age of majority per Texas’ penal code. Juveniles are excluded from many parts of accountability which are obtainable inside Texas’ prison justice system for adults.

In Texas, criminally charging somebody below the age of 17 as an grownup requires a course of culminating in certification by a County Courtroom at Legislation choose, not merely the willingness of a prosecutor to file such fees at their sole discretion. Like we expertise daily throughout the civil silo of our pursuit for biking justice, accountability is never ever instantaneous or swift; it’s extra like a pipeline through which arriving at the absolute best end result requires the opening of 1 valve at a time to permit the passage from one step to the following.

The Waller County D.A. and Particular Prosecutor are neither a choose nor a jury. Nonetheless, they did take their prison investigation to an empaneled Grand Jury final week to struggle for our purchasers, for justice, and the flexibility to open this valve within the lengthy course of forward to carry this driver accountable for the crimes with which he’s been charged when he struck 6 people who merely needed to journey their bicycles with out being terrorized by the driving force of an virtually 8,000 lb diesel truck.

The prison “investigation” which started below the authority of the town of Waller’s police, led by Officer Charles Mistric below the supervision of Waller Police Chief Invoice Llewellyn, was shortly taken over by Particular Prosecutor Warren Diepraam on the course of the county’s D.A.’s workplace when Mr. Mathis was alerted to the crash on social media and the way the town of Waller PD was failing to reply appropriately.

DRIVER’S CRIMINAL LAWYER’S RED HERRING

Then, in early October, Jason and Jennifer Arnold retained Rick DeToto, an area Texas prison protection lawyer, to signify their son. DeToto made a red-herring assertion to the general public when he declared that his shopper “is a young man in high school with college aspirations. He’s a very new and inexperienced driver. This was a serious accident but did not involve any criminal intent. He immediately called 911, helped with the injured and cooperated with police.” (We have no idea if DeToto nonetheless/at the moment represents the Arnolds’ son on this matter.)

We nonetheless don't perceive the next about DeToto’s assertion:

1. If this crash was the unintended consequence of a “very new and inexperienced driver,” then why aren’t all 16 yr outdated drivers of diesel vehicles “rolling-coal” and inflicting this sort of catastrophic hurt? 
2. Who bodily modified the engine of the Arnolds’ diesel truck which they permitted their son to function to assault cyclists and crash into our purchasers? (We perceive that with a purpose to “roll coal,” engine modifications should first happen in one in every of two methods: 1) Increase the gasoline circulation of the mechanical diesel pump. This manner, when the operator presses the fuel pedal, the smoke billows from the exhaust pipes, normally for a restricted period of time, or 2) By limiting the airflow to the engine’s consumption. The poisonous, blinding, smoke is the results of incomplete combustion, due to this fact eradicating oxygen will trigger the specified impact.)
3. How did such a “new and inexperienced driver” know how you can roll coal? Was DeToto implying that he discovered with out expertise?
4. Who instructed him that his shopper “immediately called 911?” Now we have been unable to find any proof that the driving force himself ever made that decision. (911 calls are public file, obtainable via FOIA requests to their custodial businesses.)
5. We all know that the driving force did, nonetheless, name his father to return rescue him from the destruction he induced whereas working the truck his mother and father allowed him to drive, regardless that, in keeping with DeToto, their son is “very new and inexperienced.” 
6. A lot on the contrary of what DeToto would have appreciated folks to consider in his limp and untimely try to victimize his shopper and trivialize the hazard he poses to others with whom he shares the highway, the Arnolds’ son stepped out of the truck he used to plow our purchasers down and really requested one in every of them NOT to name 911 as they lay damaged on the recent asphalt by the entrance driver’s aspect tire of the smoking F-250.
7. It was not till one other one in every of our purchasers issued a blood curdling cry for somebody to name 911 that the driving force’s grownup passenger determined to alert emergency responders.
8. What “help” did DeToto’s shopper situation to our purchasers on the scene of the crash? We aren't conscious of any in any respect. In actual fact, all eye-witness testimony studies the identical factor: no assist was rendered by the driving force in any method.

Rick DeToto continued to prattle on by saying, “The police did an investigation at the scene. This included speaking with eyewitnesses to the accident. After their investigation, they decided not to charge my client and did not even issue him a traffic ticket. Clearly, they determined a crime had not occurred.”

Although DeToto’s first two sentences above are as absurd as a lot of the different issues he’s stated publicly in response to this horrific crash, we couldn’t agree extra with the final two sentences and “clearly” perceive simply how a lot injustice Waller Police Chief Invoice Llewellyn will permit when  issues like this occur in his jurisdiction. No less than there is no such thing as a factual dispute about precisely what occurred for the quick time this “investigation” was within the fingers of the town of Waller’s Police Division. 

DISTRICT ATTORNEY: “CASE NOT HANDLED APPROPRIATELY”

In response to DeToto’s assertion, Waller County elected D.A. Elton Mathis stated that, “This case was not handled appropriately by the investigating agency. PERIOD. Despite being encouraged by the Texas Department of Public Safety to treat the scene as a crime scene and to contact the D.A.’s Office for advice on how to proceed, the investigating agency chose not to do so.”  

THE PURSUIT OF JUSTICE

Mathis then indicated that this case may very well be offered to a Grand Jury who would then resolve whether or not or to not indict the Arnolds’ son for the destruction he induced whereas behind the wheel of their diesel truck that day.

Justice ought to by no means permit for one’s private beliefs or biases to affect due course of. And justice ought to by no means be blind or obtainable solely to sure teams of individuals in sure locations at sure instances. When Mathis said that, “All sides of this matter (the juvenile, the adult passenger, their families, the victims and their friends and families) can be assured that this case is not being swept away as the days pass,” and that “…this will not be a lynching and likewise, it will not be a case of small county politics making problems just go away,” Bike Legislation understood and appreciated the integrity of the work we consider was finished to reach on the place we're immediately.

We’ve ready ourselves and The Waller 6 to count on all of it: aid, dissatisfaction, and a myriad of opinions to be expressed in response to this replace. What we proceed to ask of everyone seems to be an understanding that (even in Waller, TX) when issues really feel like they’re taking extra time than they “should,” the likelihood exists that one thing proper and good, no more disappointing ambivalence to justice, is the trigger for such delay.

Bike Legislation is honored to signify The Waller 6, will proceed our dogged struggle for justice for them and all folks on bikes, and we stay up for offering extra info and additional updates as we're in a position.

Thanks on your assist, and please keep protected.

Rachael Maney

Nationwide Director

[email protected]

www.bikelaw.com

Bike Legislation is a community of impartial legislation companies throughout the nation who signify injured cyclists and pursue biking justice.