Waco Police On Alert; Man Accused of D.C. Murder in Court Today
COSTELLO: A chilling warning for Texas troopers and other officers this morning.</s>COSTELLO (voice-over): Members of the Bandidos, one of the biker gangs involved in that deadly brawl in Waco, are now targeting law enforcement allegedly in retaliation for the police's role in the shoot-out. CNN's Alina Machado is in Waco with more for you.</s>COSTELLO (on camera): Good morning.</s>ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a warning saying that certain Bandido members have given the group C4 explosives and grenades to be used to retaliate against police for the deadly shoot-out that happened here over the weekend. Now, the bulletin named some specific target locations, in the McLennan County jail here in Waco, Texas, as well as several cities in the state, namely Houston, Austin, and El Paso. It also warns of plots possibly targeting high ranking law enforcement officials with car bombs, and it mentions possibly even targeting the officials' family members. Now, the bulletin is based on unsubstantiated information from an informant who claims to have gotten it from members of the Bandidos and another group called The Black Widows. Police here in Waco, Texas, have already been on high alert following the shooting. They say they are aware of this new threat, but have not said, Carol, what they are going to be doing differently in light of this new one. Carol?</s>COSTELLO: All right, Alina Machado reporting live from Waco, Texas, this morning. Thank you. A man accused in a gruesome attack against a D.C. family will be in court at 1:00 p.m. eastern time today.</s>COSTELLO (voice-over): Police say Daron Wint's DNA was found on a slice of pizza that was delivered to home during the murders. My next guest says Daron Wint, though, is a nice guy, someone you'd want your grandmother to have lunch with. The attorney's name is Robin Ficker. He's represented Wint during six previous cases. He joins me now over the phone from Washington.</s>COSTELLO (on camera): Good morning, sir.</s>ROBIN FICKER, FMR. ATTORNEY FOR DARON WINT (via telephone): Good morning. And I might point out that he was not found guilty in any of those cases. There has been a rush to judgment, a group grope (ph). He is presumed innocent. It's important to remember that.</s>COSTELLO: Well, let me ask you this. Are you going to represent Mr. Wint in his upcoming - or, you know, in his initial appearance in court today?</s>FICKER: I have not been retained in the case. I know his family is financially challenged. As far as I know, the public defender will be at that 1:00 hearing today.</s>COSTELLO: A lot of people are saying, though, really, he's a nice guy? I mean, according to "The Washington Post" the same man that you're talking about, his father, his own father, had to get a restraining order against him because he feared violence from his son.</s>FICKER: Well, he's had a problem with his father. I've got three kids, they've all had a problem with me at some point. They didn't seek a restraining order, but we've had discussions. You don't want a little wuss for a child who doesn't argue with you. You want someone who can think on their own and there may have been disagreements, but his family loves him.</s>COSTELLO: Mr. Ficker, come on. Most people do not threaten their father with violence to the point that the father has to go to the police and get a restraining order.</s>FICKER: I agree. I agree with that. But also in custody matters, everyone knows that these restraining orders are used as a weapon in custody battles and that may have been involved in this.</s>COSTELLO: I don't think it was somehow. In 2009, this man was convicted of assault, by the way. So, he was convicted of a violent act.</s>FICKER: Well, you know, I have an office down the street from a major university in the state of Maryland, and I have represented hundreds of young men that have got into a tussle at some point or another. That doesn't mean they are bad people. That doesn't mean they killed four people. Keep in mind that the pizza was delivered outside the house. The DNA on the pizza crust was found, if it really was his DNA, found in a dumpster outside the house. There's no DNA on any victim. There's no DNA inside the house. The money was not found in his car. There were no weapons on him or anyone else that was arrested even though the police said he was armed and dangerous.</s>COSTELLO: Let me challenge you.</s>FICKER: They were wrong.</s>COSTELLO: Let me challenge you on those things. First of all, we don't know what police got out of that house because they're not releasing any information. For all I know his fingerprints are all over the house. We just don't know that yet, sir. And for another reason...</s>FICKER: Well, we don't know that they weren't.</s>COSTELLO: If you're an innocent man...</s>FICKER: How come the police released the information...</s>COSTELLO: If you're an innocent man, why didn't he turn himself over to police?</s>FICKER: Why would they release information about DNA on a pizza crust and not DNA in the house where the crime occurred?</s>COSTELLO: Well, I guess my final question to you is, if -- why didn't he just turn himself over to police if he's completely innocent of this crime?</s>FICKER: I think he's certainly presumed innocent and everyone should believe that because you never know when your listeners might be charged and they want a presumption of innocence.</s>COSTELLO: All right, Robin Ficker. Thanks for being with me this morning. I appreciate it. I'll be right back.