Metro met with gangs before casino shootout

Keith Paul

Wednesday, May 1, 2002 | 11:09 a.m.

Hours before a deadly brawl between rival motorcycle gangs in Laughlin, Metro Police met with leaders of the outlaw biker groups in an attempt to quell the brewing conflict, police officials said Tuesday.

Police hadn't tried for such a meeting at the Laughlin River Run before, but with information from police sources in Nevada, California and Arizona that Mongols Motorcycle Club members were going to attack Hells Angels members, police sought a meeting with leaders of the Mongols.

There were minor incidents between the two groups early in the River Run, and Metro commanders tried to set up a meeting.

Metro commanders were finally able to meet with both groups after officers broke up a confrontation between the Mongols and the Hells Angels about 8 p.m. Friday.

A meeting between police and Hells Angels leaders happened about 11 p.m., about three hours before members of the group stormed into Harrah's casino, setting off a melee that left three dead and 12 injured, police said.

"We had no concrete information that the Hells Angels were going to be the aggressors," said Metro Lt. Tom Smitley, who along with Capt. Marc Maston met with the Hells Angels.

Maston met with Mongols leaders after the Mongols had allegedly surrounded a Hells Angels booth at the River Run. Police quickly broke that up.

"I spoke with two guys (from the Mongols) that claimed to have authority. One had a national sticker on his vest," said Maston, who oversees Metro's outlying areas. "I felt like we had an understanding that they were going to behave themselves."

The Mongols were outnumbered by the Hells Angels, giving police another reason to believe they would "behave," said Smitley, who oversees officers in Laughlin.

Maston and Smitley's meeting with the Hells Angels included two regional Hells Angels presidents and a secretary. The Hells Angels would not meet with Smitley and Maston in a room, only in the parking lot, police said.

"We did our best to try to stabilize the situations," Smitley said. "They started saying there was no conflict between them and the Mongols. They just played dumb."

When Smitley tried to explain the officers were there to protect all participants -- including the Hells Angels -- he said he was met with resistance from the leaders.

"We offered the support of the police department and they didn't want to listen," he said.

Smitley then pointed out the economic benefits the River Run has to the Hells Angels, with the sale of T-shirts and other merchandise for the club.

"I tried to appeal to their common sense on the economic side," he said.

The Mongols and Hells Angels have a history of bad blood. Both groups were formed in Southern California and both claim to be the true "1 percenters," an infamous title bikers wear with pride claiming they are the "1 percent" that causes the majority of the trouble.

The trouble came a few hours after the police meeting. Scores of Hells Angels rode the mile or so down the street from the Flamingo Hilton to the Harrah's Laughlin casino, where the Mongols were staying.

Hells Angels confronted Mongols inside a bar at the hotel, and a melee erupted leaving two Hells Angels -- Jeramie Dean Bell, 27, and Robert E. Tumelty, 50 -- dead from gunshot wounds and one Mongol -- Anthony Salvador Barrera, 43 -- dead from a stab wound. Twelve others were hospitalized after the brawl.

One suspect, Calvin Schaefer, a Hells Angels member from Chandler, Ariz., was charged with murder and was scheduled to appear in Justice Court today. Police say more arrests are expected.

Talking to potential combatants is a standard way police try to defuse situations, but an expert on biker gangs says members of outlaw biker gangs are not standard people.

History was not on the side of the police Saturday, as the Mongols and Hells Angels have been fighting for decades, said Steve Tretheway, a 25-year veteran of the Arizona Department of Public Safety and nationally known expert on biker gangs.

"Basically what it comes down to is the mentality of the people you are talking to," said Tretheway, who works for the Rocky Mountain Information Network, which provides investigative support to law enforcement agencies.

"These are people who think differently and then you throw in the drugs and alcohol to top it off and (the conversations) might not mean anything to them."

Police had information that a coalition of biker gangs -- the Mongols, the Outlaws, the Bandidos and the Vagos -- was possibly planning to confront the Hells Angels. A police reports states, "Intelligence reports indicates the Mongols intend to bolster their status by attacking members of the Hells Angels."

Several minor incidents occurred between those two groups, prompting the renewed effort by Metro Police to try to mediate.

"You try to prepare for it and try to defuse it, but someone pops off and says something, (and) on top of it the two (biker gangs) aren't friends, and then throw in drugs and alcohol," Tretheway said.

Maston said police continued to watch the gangs, and there were even motorcycle officers right behind the Hells Angels as they were heading to Harrah's.

"They said they were going to remain peaceful and didn't want to start any trouble," Maston said. "They said they didn't think it was necessary for use to mediate a truce."

But even with the assurances from leaders of both gangs, Maston said he never put much credence in their words.

"I didn't know them any better than a rock. You really can't put a lot of faith in what they tell you," he said.

Regardless of their words, police soon found that the gangs were ready for each other.