River Run riot charges trimmed

Monday, Oct. 11, 2004 | 9:23 a.m.

Thirty-one charges against members of rival motorcycle gangs who allegedly participated in the deadly riot at the 2002 Laughlin River Run have been dropped.

Defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed Friday that the charges should be dropped because some people were classified as both victims and defendants in the case.

The change in the number of charges came after attorneys representing 14 defendants charged in connection to the melee between the Mongols and Hells Angels offered arguments on a slew of motions before District Judge Donald Mosley.

The fight at Harrah's Laughlin resulted in the deaths of 50-year-old Robert Emmet Tumelty, 27-year-old Jeramie Dean Bell and 43-year-old Anthony Salvador Barrera.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Owens assured the dozen or so defense lawyers and Mosley that he would issue amended charges so that none of the defendants are charged with crimes against themselves.

Although Owens cleared up the issue by agreeing to drop the conflicting charges, attorney David Chesnoff perhaps summed the issue up best with some humor.

"You can't be a victim and a defendant of the same crime except if you are living in certain parts of North Korea," Chesnoff said.

A Clark County grand jury returned a 73-count indictment April 19 against seven members of the Hells Angels and two members of the Mongols.

The original indictment alleges that Hells Angels members Calvin Schaefer, Sohn Regas, Dale Leedom, James Hannigan, Raymond Foakes, Maurice Eunice, Rodney Cox, along with Mongols Alexander Alcantar and Roger Pinney, entered Harrah's in Laughlin with the intention of causing or provoking a fight "to assist the activities of the criminal gang."

Hells Angels member Frederick Dennis Donahue and Mongols members Kenneth Dysart, Pedro Martinez Jr., Victor Ramirez, and Benjamin Leyva were indicted in June bringing the total number of defendants in the case to 14.

Mosley reserved his decision on several of Friday's issues for a hearing scheduled for Nov. 1. The bulk of Friday's arguments focused on whether or not the conspiracy charges should be dismissed.

Ramirez's attorney, Robert Langford, said the Mongols members were at the casino drinking beer and playing poker when the Hells Angels arrived.

"Reacting (in self-defense) is not evidence of a conspiracy," Langford said.

Langford said if the videotapes from Harrah's security cameras are viewed in their entirety and not the edited version presented by Owens, "you won't find a conspiracy among the Mongols organization."

Owens argued a conspiracy only requires two or more people to agree to commit an act. Owens laid out the basis for the conspiracy charges by offering a video and PowerPoint presentation recounting the 28 hours leading up to the fight.

Owens played video footage of the Mongols at the casino and the arrival of members of Hells Angels, using statements made by witnesses who testified before the grand jury in an attempt to bolster his argument that a conspiracy existed.

Owens presented testimony from several dealers at the casino who overheard members of both gangs make comments insinuating a "rumble" between the gangs was imminent.

Owens said he would eventually show how each individual allegedly conspired to commit the crimes as charged at the Nov. 1 hearing. Mosely said he wouldn't rule on the issue of the conspiracy charges until after Owens could make his representations.