Judge pulls out of one aspect of Mongols case

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Monday, April 4, 2005 | 9:46 a.m.

The members of the Mongols motorcycle gang who allegedly participated in the deadly riot at the 2002 Laughlin River Run will not stand trial before District Judge Donald Mosley.

Mosley said he was forced to recuse himself Friday because defense attorney Dominic Gentile has recently substituted into the case to defend Mongols member Alexander Alcantar.

The Mongol defendants will now have their case randomly reassigned to another District Court judge.

Mosley refuses to hear any case involving Gentile because the defense attorney formerly served as the judge's attorney during two separate court proceedings.

Gentile represented Mosley after the judge fumed over what he said were false and libelous campaign ads and filed a defamation lawsuit against challenger Peter Flangas. Gentile also defended Mosley against the countersuit filed by Flangas. Flangas alleged the judge abused the court process by filing the lawsuit over the ads, which Flangas said were based on fact.

Gentile also represented Mosley during proceedings before the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission. Mosley was accused of violating 10 judicial canons during three incidents between 1997 and 1999. The judge was ultimately fined and issued strong letters of censure for violations of the judicial code.

Mosley will continue to preside over the Hells Angels charged in connection with the fight at Harrah's Laughlin that resulted in the deaths of 50-year-old Robert Emmet Tumelty, 27-year-old Jeramie Dean Bell and 43-year-old Anthony Salvador Barrera.

After hearing arguments on Friday as to whether the lawyers representing the Hells Angels members needed more time to examine videotapes recovered from the Harrah's security cameras, Mosley issued a foreboding warning.

The judge said at a hearing scheduled for Friday he will announce a "surprise, and it's awesome."

Mosley wouldn't elaborate but told the lawyers, "If you want to fall on the sword for your clients, that sword will be made available to you on Friday."

The herd of stunned defense attorneys left the courtroom saying they had absolutely no idea what Mosley was talking about.

Defense attorney Lisa Rasmussen, who represents Mongol president Roger Pinney, said after Friday's hearing, "It feels like I'm in the military and have been transferred to another base, but don't know where and when it will happen."

Defense attorney David Chesnoff, said, "I like surprises."

The surprise might be that Mosley has found a senior judge to take over his entire calendar of cases, which would enable him to deal solely with the Hells Angels case. Such a move would likely make him even more determined to stick to the May 2 trial date that has been scheduled.

Earlier in the week, the option of a senior judge taking over his caseload came up during the trial setting for Tamara and John Schmidt.

The Schmidts are charged with child abuse and neglect in connection with the stabbing attack of Tamara Schmidt's two daughters, which left one dead another paralyzed from the waste down.

In the Schmidt case Mosley set two possible trial dates, one on July 25 before a senior judge or on March 27, 2006, before Mosley.

The location for the Hells Angels trial has not been determined. It's unclear if Mosley will hear the case in the Clark County Courthouse in a larger courtroom on the first floor as District Judge Joseph Bonaventure did with the re-trial of the Ted Binion murder case, or if the case will be heard in a different building altogether.

It's highly unlikely the trial will be held in Mosley's courtroom on the second floor of the Clark County Courthouse because it is not spacious enough to accommodate the eight Hells Angels charged and their respective attorneys along with the district attorneys, security personnel and an audience of media and spectators.