311 Boyz suspects plead not guilty

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

Nine alleged members of the 311 Boyz who are charged with seriously injuring a 17-year-old entered pleas of not guilty this morning, but motions to raise their bail of $40,000 apiece were postponed until next week.

Trial dates were set for May 24 for all nine teenagers, who face six counts of battery, three counts of attempted murder and one count of mayhem, all with a deadly weapon in the attack. They also face three counts of coercion in connection with a rock thrown through window of a moving vehicle that seriously injured 17-year-old Stephen Tanner Hansen.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent had filed motions seeking bail of $500,000 for Ernest Bradley Aguilar, 17; Steven Gazley, 18; Jeff Hart, 17; 16-year-old twins Anthony and Brandon Gallion; Mathew Costello, 17; Christopher Farley, 18; Dominic Harriman, 19, and Scott Morse, 18. But District Judge Michael Cherry postponed hearing those motions until Sept. 26.

Laurent told the judge that that one of the boys, Hart, had made plans to flee to Idaho. He said the plans were recorded during conversations from the jail. Hart is the only one of the nine still in custody.

Hart's attorney Sean Sullivan said that the conversations weren't about plans to flee, but to move after the case was resolved.

"He has a truck that could probably make it to Henderson, so with regards to a big flight plan, it's just not there," Sullivan said.

He added that Hart is on "23-hour lockdown status" at the jail. Sullivan asked that Hart be put on house arrest. That request will be argued on Sept. 26.

Sullivan argued that Hart, before these charges, had no criminal record.

But Laurent countered that Hart had "hit the big league here in the damage he caused."

The teens will be charged as adults. In Nevada, children 8 and older charged with certain violent crimes, including attempted murder, are automatically charged in the adult system.

Cherry was the third judge assigned to the case in less than three weeks.

District Judges Kathy Hardcastle and Donald Mosley both stepped down from the case, citing possible conflicts of interest. Hardcastle has a child enrolled at Centennial and Mosley shares a defense attorney with one of the defendants.

Police are also investigating whether the teens are responsible for committing several other violent crimes in northwest neighborhoods, some caught on videotape.

They say members of the 311 Boyz terrorized dozens of other teenagers in the area during the summer months, long before the attack on Hansen.

Brandon Gallion and Hart also face felony charges in juvenile court, along with Kyle Hadley, Chad Cladderbuck, Thomas Geick and Joseph Trujillo.

Those teens were charged with two felony counts of battery causing substantial bodily harm in a July 3 fight that injured two other teens. Hart and Gallion could also be certified as adults in that case, prosecutors say.