Mosley delays Hells Angels trial

By Matt Pordum

Monday, April 11, 2005 | 9:28 a.m.

District Judge Donald Mosley on Friday rescheduled the trial of Hells Angels motorcycle gang members accused of taking part in the deadly riot at the 2002 Laughlin River Run. It is now scheduled to begin July 25.

The trial had been set to begin May 2, but Mosley said the extra time was needed to allow the defense to analyze DNA evidence and resolve issues with prosecutors over the quality of videotape evidence.

The fight at Harrah's Laughlin between members of the rival Hells Angels and Mongols motorcycle gangs left 50-year-old Robert Emmet Tumelty, 27-year-old Jeramie Dean Bell and 43-year-old Anthony Salvador Barrera dead.

Mosley had held steadfast to the May 2 trial date prior to Friday, when he announced that it was not possible to ensure that it would be a fair trial if it started on that date.

The judge said that to provide adequate time for defense lawyers to analyze DNA evidence that will only be made available today -- some 35 months after it was submitted for testing -- he had to reschedule the trial.

Mosley said he wasn't finding fault with the time it took for the DNA evidence to be completed because, he said, there is currently "a shortage of people who can test DNA nationally" and that includes the state of Nevada.

Mosley also said the defense attorneys deserved to be given more time to review and digitize copies of the first generation recordings to ensure that they had had access to the same quality of videotapes as prosecutors got from the security cameras recovered from Harrah's Laughlin.

Prosecutors had made copies of the 438 tapes from Harrah's available to the defense attorneys, but those were second and third generation copies of the tapes. The defense lawyers said they needed access to the master copies because they are clearer and represent in greater detail what happened the night of the incident.

Mosley has ordered the defense and prosecutors to work together in the weeks to come to resolve the issue so both sides have access to the same quality of video.

Another factor that played into Mosley's decision to reschedule the trial is the shortage of senior judges who can help handle some of the caseloads at the courthouse. The judge had hoped he could have a senior judge take over his criminal calendar starting in May to free him up to exclusively work on the Hells Angels trial, but the chances were slim that month. It is more likely that it can be done at the end of the July.

Mosley warned both sides that he expects this will be the last postponement.

"I'm going to maintain our weekly meetings and bird dog this every way possible to make sure this case goes forward," Mosley said.

Mosley said because the Hells Angels case had been pushed to July he would be trying to reverse his postponement of another trial.

Last week Mosley rescheduled the trial of Beau and Monique Maestas from May 31 to April 10, 2006 for the January 2003 killing of 3-year-old Kristyanna Cowan and the stabbing of her then 10-year-old half-sister, Brittney Bergeron, in a trailer in the Casablanca hotel-casino's RV park in Mesquite.

Mosley had rescheduled the Maestas case largely due to the intended May 2 trial date in the Hells Angels case because of a conflict with Beau Maestas' attorney, Pete Christiansen, who also represents one of the Hells Angels members charged in the case before Mosley.