The McLennan County Courthouse will ramp up security this week in case an expected convergence by statewide motorcycle clubs at a manslaughter trial becomes a reality.

Trena Evette Mitchell, 39, who is legally blind and has no driver’s license, is charged in the December traffic death of motorcyclist Richard Craig Schroeder. Jury selection begins this morning.

Because of publicity and a well-orchestrated letter-writing campaign by bikers’ groups, Judge Ralph Strother of Waco’s 19th State District Court has ordered an extra-large jury panel this morning, and the sheriff’s office will have extra deputies on hand.

Trena Mitchell, who is legally blind and does not have a driver’s license, is accused of causing the death of a motorcyclist while driving in December.
Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald, file

Mitchell, who has been cited at least twice for driving without a license, had four children in the car with her when she reportedly failed to yield and turned in front of Schroeder’s motorcycle at Martin Luther King Boulevard and East Lake Shore Drive.

Schroeder, 45, known to his biker friends as “Hat Trick,” was on a charitable mission that morning, rounding up toys to give to children whose parents are in prison.

Mitchell pleaded guilty in May in exchange for a prosecutor’s recommendation that she be placed on deferred probation. The plea bargain set off a firestorm among the close-knit biker community.

Strother’s court was swamped with more than 1,000 letters from motorcycle club members imploring the judge not to accept the plea agreement.

Strother rejected the plea bargain in June and allowed Mitchell to withdraw her guilty plea.

Her attorney, Phil Martinez, said Monday that Mitchell will plead not guilty this morning and place her fate in the hands of a jury.

Paul Landers, a 54-year-old chef from Georgetown known as “Escondido Paul,” is lieutenant national commander of the US Defenders, a motorcycle rights activist group. Landers put out the “call to action” in May, urging his fellow riders to write letters to the court denouncing the deferred plea offer.

Landers, who was in South Dakota on Monday, said he won’t be in Waco this week to show support for Schroeder, but he expects quite a few other motorcycle club members to be.

He said he could not predict how many will ride to Waco.

“We will have some people there to visit the courtroom,” Landers said. “We have talked about this for a couple of months now, and we just want justice. We want to stand together and, in some form or fashion, try to stop her so she can’t do this to anyone else. We feel comfortable that the jury and Judge Strother will do the right thing.

“Hat Trick and his family have 100 percent support from the Texas Confederation of Clubs, the US Defenders and other organizations out there. This is an important case. It really hit home for many of us,” he said.

Prosecutors Hilary LaBorde and J.R. Vicha said they expect to call about seven witnesses during the trial, which they expect to conclude Thursday.

If convicted, Mitchell is eligible for probation but also faces the possibility of two to 20 years in prison.

twitherspoon@wacotrib.com

757-5737

RELATED SEARCHES

• Judge rejects blind driver's plea deal in motorcyclist's death
• Judge receives more than 1,000 letters about legally blind woman's sentence for killing biker in traffic accident
• Bikers come to Waco for trial of blind woman accused of killing motorcyclist
• Legally blind woman found guilty of manslaughter in 2009 death of motorcyclist