State Representative Hit by Stray Bullet on New Year’s Eve

Our daily roundup of Texas headlines.

By Michael MarksJanuary 2, 2017 12:41 pm

The date has been set for the first trial in the 2015 Twin Peaks biker shootout in Waco. It’s scheduled for April 17 – nearly two years after the clash that killed nine and injured two dozen more.

Some of the 150 bikers charged with crimes sought an earlier trial date. But McLennan County officials said that the complexity of the cases slowed the process down and that demanding a speedy trial is unrealistic given the large number of cases and the volume of evidence collected.

Fifty-fourth District Judge Matt Johnson told the Waco Tribune-Herald that it isn’t uncommon for trials to occur up to two years after the alleged incident in complex cases. Officials say the first case will probably take about two weeks to try.




A strong line of storms brought severe weather to much of the state early this morning.

Meteorologist Nick Hampton with the National weather service in New Braunfels says parts of central Texas has seen gusts up to 80 miles per hour.

“We’ve had a strong to severe line of storms that developed over west Texas yesterday evening that’s marched east across the entire state,” he says.

Some of East Texas came under a tornado watch.

“As we get into the daytime hours today, and those locations in east Texas begin to heat up, we’ll see some little bit stronger thunderstorms that will, therefore, have the potential to produce some tornados,” Hampton says.

“Because this has moved over most of the state over night, the chances of tornados are pretty low but as the atmosphere heats up this morning, the chances of tornados will increase.”

The current tornado watch will expire today, although heavy rain may continue through tomorrow.




A state representative is recovering after being hit in the head by a stray bullet on New Year’s Eve.

The McAllen Monitor reports that Rep. Armando Martinez (D-Weslaco) was hit in the back of the head shortly after midnight on Sunday. But authorities say there’s no reason to believe that Martinez was intentionally targeted.

The gunfire was likely a result of the night’s festivities.

Martinez told the Monitor that his wife was giving him a hug when suddenly he “felt a sledgehammer hitting the back of my head.”

Martinez is currently recovering and is in stable condition.