Five teens in attack free on bond

Erica D. Johnson

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2003 | 9:39 a.m.

Five of the nine teenage boys charged with attacking three other teens with rocks in a northwest Las Vegas neighborhood have been released from the Clark County Detention Center and the remaining defendants could be released this morning.

As of late Wednesday, Dominic Harriman, 19, Ernest Bradley Aguilar, 17, Steven Gazley, 18, Anthony and Brandon Gallion, both 16, Mathew Costello, 17, and Scott Morse, 18, had been released from the jail after posting a $40,000 bond, officials at the jail said.

The remaining teens were expected have posted bail in the same amount by this morning, jail officials and several attorneys for the boys said.

Authorities say the teens attacked three other teenagers when the boys tried to leave a party in the gated community of Canyon Terrace in Summerlin.

Police believe the three were targeted because they were not members of a gang called the 311 Boyz.

The teens face 13 felony charges, including attempted murder and battery with use of a deadly weapon in the melee.

Harriman, Morse and Gallion, along with Matthew Costello, 17, Christopher Farley, 18 and Gallion's twin brother, Brandon, were arraigned Wednesday via closed circuit television before Justice of the Peace James Bixler.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Sept. 8.

As the teens set their court case into motion, Metro Police's Gang Unit was busy investigating a string of other violent acts they believe the teens may have committed during the summer months.

Sgt. Dave Stansbury said the investigation could result in more arrests in the coming months.

"We'll probably come up with a lot more between now and the end of September," he said.

All nine teens will be charged as adults. Nevada law allows children 8 and older charged with some crimes, such as murder and attempted murder, to be charged in the adult system.

The teens will also be charged under conspiracy laws, which allow defendants to be held liable for a crime if they conspired with another to commit battery or coercion, prosecutor Chris Laurent said.

Prosecutors have not identified any of the teens as the ringleader. The teens face up to 100 years in prison if convicted, Laurent said.

Police have described the teens as a violent group of well-to-do teenagers who have for months terrorized the neighborhoods surrounding Centennial High School, where most of them are students.

Authorities have identified 36 "known members or associates" of the gang and there could be up to 100 members in all, Stansbury said.

But attorneys defending the boys question whether the gang even exists.

"It will become clear throughout the course of the case that 311 Boyz is not a gang," said Robert Draskovich, Farley's attorney. "Detectives are making quantum leap saying these boys are affiliated with a gang that doesn't exist."

Brandon Gallion's attorney, Gabriel Grasso, said that within gangs there usually exists a hierarchy of power, prostitution and the use and sale of narcotics. None of those things characterize this group of boys, he said.

"There's no gang here," he said. "Had it been a true gang, (prosecutors) would have filed a gang enhancement."

He said the teens are friends and they often party together. He noted that his client has no history of trouble with the law.

Authorities say a group of 40 to 80 teens had gathered at the party and that at least five of the boys charged launched rocks at a pickup truck as the driver, Stephen Hansen, tried to drive out of the gated community.

Hansen, who was hit by a rock, sustained severe facial injuries and could lose the sight in one eye. He hit one teen as he sped away from the incident, police said.

Grasso said the state's conspiracy laws are the reason his client is being charged with a crime Grasso said he didn't commit. He said Brandon Gallion never launched rocks at Hansen's car.

"You have to place blame where blame is supposed to be placed," he said. "You can't generically spread it around and try to get people involved in actions they had nothing to do with based on the theory of gang activity."

Draskovich said the details of the case are "far from clear-cut."

He said he plans to address the "inaccurate and involuntary statement" Farley made to officers, in which Farley allegedly admitted he threw a rock at Hansen's car.

"It is unfortunate that what happened happened," Draskovich said. "But it didn't happen in a vacuum. At the appropriate time the entire case will be clear."

Harriman's attorney, Brian Fisher, said his client was at the party and found himself in the middle of the melee.

"It appears that my client was just a partygoer and had no participation in any assault that may or may not have taken place," he said.

Fisher added that his client has "absolutely no criminal record."

Stansbury said police spoke to most of the teens' parents following the arrests and that the parents had various reactions.

"Some of the parents were shocked by what they heard and others were in denial and couldn't believe their kids were involved," he said.

He said he hopes the media attention surrounding the case will encourage more parents to pay close attention to what their children are doing.

"The main idea here is that these parents have no idea what their kids are doing once they leave the house," he said.