Bandidos biker gang member on trial for 2014 murder

FORT WORTH, Texas - Security was tight at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth for the first day of the Bandidos biker gang member murder trial.

62-year-old Howard Baker also faces a charge of organized crime connected to the 2014 murder of a rival biker gang member. It was in December of 2014 when prosecutors say members of the Bandidos motorcycle gang rushed into a bar and went after members of a rival gang. One man was killed.

There were several DPS troopers on Monday at the courthouse along with heightened protection from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.

Baker has been portrayed in court as the leader of the Fort Worth Bandidos. He’s accused of murder and organized crime.

The state says Baker ordered the shooting death of 41-year-old Geoffrey Brady. Prosecutors say Brady was taken outside the bar and killed in front of his wife. A witness said she saw one of the Bandidos nicknamed ‘Dauber’ in the moments before Brady's death.

"Dauber had a gun pointed to Jeff's head,” said Megan Smith, the state’s witness. “He never pulled the trigger. At that point, he pulled the gun back and I went out the side door."

Other witnesses who were at the bar say they heard several motorcycles arrive at once. They testified several men rushed inside and the fighting began and shots were fired.

Prosecutors say the shooting began because Baker's group believed that a rival gang was on their turf.