Incidents resemble violence of 311 Boyz

Jen Lawson

Friday, Feb. 4, 2005 | 11:03 a.m.

In the summer of 2003, members of the 311 Boyz gang blocked a group of teens who were trying to leave a gated community in Summerlin and threw a rock through their windshield, severely injuring a 17-year-old boy.

An incident that occurred last week has a chilling similarity to the 2003 attack, and Metro Police said recent violence allegedly connected to the 311 Boyz gang -- including a double stabbing at a multi-million-dollar Summerlin home apparently owned by a gaming executive -- seems to be emerging.

"When we see three (incidents) in such a short period of time, I'd say it's on the upswing," Sgt. Don Sutton of the department's gang-crimes section said.

Last month's attacks don't involve any of the teens who were convicted in 2003, Sutton said.

The 311 Boyz gained national notoriety after videotapes surfaced showing them beating people and committing a string of other violent acts in their upper middle-class northwest Las Vegas neighborhoods.

Some of the gang's members told police after their arrests 18 months ago that the name 311 stands for KKK, because K is the 11th letter of the alphabet, but police said they think they chose the name for the intimidation factor and not because they are a hate group.

The most recent attack happened about 1:45 p.m. on Jan. 24.

A 16-year-old and an 18-year-old were in a gray 2002 Chevrolet Suburban attempting to get through a gate and pull out onto North Durango Drive near Cheyenne Avenue, according to a police report.

A muscular 17-year-old boy with a goatee and sideburns, believed to be a Centennial High School student, allegedly stood in their path and threatened to hurt the front passenger if he didn't get out of the vehicle, police said.

"The suspect stated that he would get the 311 Boyz and they would beat" the passenger, a police report says. "The suspect then flashed a gang hand sign at the victims."

They told police they recognized the hand signal as the one used by the 311 Boyz.

The teenagers in the vehicle "began to be afraid that other 311 Boyz would arrive and attempted to drive away," the report says. The driver jumped the curb to go around the agitated boy blocking their escape.

Then the suspect threw "a baseball-sized rock" at the vehicle, police said. It broke the driver's side window and hit one of the boys on the head, causing a small cut.

As they drove off, the suspect yelled that if he couldn't get them, he'd get a younger brother of one of the victims who also attends Centennial, the report says.

This incident is similar to a melee in July 2003 that left Stephen Tanner Hansen, who was then 17, with a crushed face.

Metro Police said the teens charged in that attack threw rocks and beer bottles at Hansen and two friends during a fight that broke out when the three tried to leave a party in the gated community of Canyon Terrace in Summerlin.

A five-pound rock was thrown through a window of the vehicle that the victims were in, shattering the left side of Hansen's face, crushing his nasal cavity, cheekbone and eye socket. The rock also struck and broke his arm.

Nine alleged 311 Boyz members were indicted, eight were later convicted and one was acquitted.

Two days before the Jan. 22 attack, a teenage boy invited some friends to his house in the 9700 block of Orient Express Drive near Hualapai Way and Alta Drive in Summerlin for a small party, according to the police report.

The 9,271-square-foot, six-bedroom, seven-bathroom home on a one-acre acre lot is owned by William P. Weidner, according to Clark County assessor records. "William P. Weidner" is the name of the president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which runs the Venetian Resort and Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center. Weidner is the company's highest-ranking officer after Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson.

Weidner did not return phone calls seeking comment this morning.

Because all of the names of the juveniles in the police report were redacted by authorities, it is unclear who was hosting the party at the home.

Numerous people showed up who weren't invited, police said. At most, 50 people were in attendance, including a group of young black men.

Someone recognized a partygoer and said, "That's the 311 kid," the police report says.

One of the black teens started pushing other teens around, and a fight broke out. A black juvenile and a white "skater-type" teen grabbed knives, police said.

A victim told police that a black teen swung at him and he blocked the blow with his left arm, then he realized he had been stabbed, police said.

Another victim was stabbed five times in the upper torso and arms; none of the injuries was life threatening.

During the fracas, witnesses told police they heard someone yelling, "made men," according to the police report. Others said they heard racial slurs and references to the 311 Boyz.

Sutton said the 311 Boyz connection isn't definite. Some people involved in the attack are reported to be associates of the gang, he said.

Another incident also occurred last month involving a confirmed 311 Boy, Sutton said. He allegedly assaulted three people in a vehicle, a crime considered a misdemeanor battery.

Detectives haven't made any arrests. Sutton said the investigations are coming along, but they're running into a common obstacle in gang cases.

"Witnesses and victims are reluctant to talk to us because they're afraid of these guys," he said.