Jury rules for Harrah’s in suit over Mongol’s death

Jace Radke

Monday, March 21, 2005 | 8:44 a.m.

A jury ruled Friday that Harrah's Laughlin was not negligent in its security planning and procedures for the 2002 Laughlin River Run, and that the gaming company is not liable for the death of a man killed in a melee between rival motorcycle gangs.

Yvette Barreras claimed in her federal lawsuit that officials with Harrah's Entertainment knew that members of the Hells Angels were looking to confront members of the Mongols and did not take the necessary security measures to protect the guests at the hotel.

The suit alleged that her husband, Anthony Salvador Barreras, a 43-year-old Mongol, was killed at Harrah's Laughlin as a result of a lack of security by the hotel.

The fight between the gangs inside the casino on April 27, 2002, resulted in the deaths of Barreras, Robert Emmet Tumelty, 50, and Jeramie Dean Bell, 27. Twelve others were hurt in the brawl that occurred shortly after 2 a.m. when dozens of Hells Angels confronted a group of Mongols in a bar area inside the casino.

The 10-member jury unanimously ruled that Barreras' death was not reasonably foreseeable by Harrah's.

"If I was a criminal prosecutor I'd say Harrah's created the opportunity for the Hells Angels to attack," Barreras' attorney Charles Mathews said.

In his closing arguments, Mathews questioned why the hotel had not set up metal detectors at its entrances and set up security checkpoints along the perimeter of the property to screen people for weapons.

The jury disagreed citing no liability on the part of Harrah's.

Robert Foster, who represented Harrah's during the seven-day trial before U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt, said that the security at the hotel did everything they could, and that the incident was too much for anyone to have handled.

"No Harrah's employee killed Mr. Barreras," Foster told the jury in his closing argument. "You may be thinking why didn't they (the plaintiffs) sue the Hells Angels who killed Mr. Barreras?

"Metro Police were caught by surprise by the sudden appearance of the Hells Angels, and the Mongols were also not anticipating a problem. If those two groups of individuals were caught by surprise, how could Harrah's have forseen the event?"

The lawsuit had asked for unspecified compensatory economic damages and legal costs.

The 2002 riot has led to both federal and state charges against members of the gangs allegedly involved in the brawl.

In federal court, 42 Hells Angels are each charged with 10 counts each of violence in the aid of racketeering and one firearms charge in connection with the brawl. A trial date in the case has not yet been set.

In Clark County District Court, 10 Hells Angels and four Mongols are facing murder and conspiracy charges in connection with the riot. The state court case is currently scheduled to begin on April 18.