Drug Attorneys

A deadly gun-and-knife fight between rival motorcycle gangs in a Nevada casino is the latest in a recent rash of clashes between bikers.

Three bikers died early Saturday in the fracas between Hells Angels and Mongols at Harrah’s casino in Laughlin, a desert resort where the Nevada, Arizona and California borders meet. A dozen men were shot or stabbed in a clash that had hundreds of casino patrons diving for cover. Authorities don’t know whether the fight was part of a turf war between the two groups based in Southern California.

The Laughlin battle “all started with a physical confrontation … which erupted in gunfire,” said Lt. Vincent Cannito of Las Vegas Metro Police, which has jurisdiction in the Colorado River gambling town 80 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Police in Nevada say a faceoff between the two groups had been brewing for some time.

“They’ve been going at it basically since the late 1970s,” says John Torres of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which arrested about 50 Mongols two years ago in California after a long federal investigation. Torres says the two gangs eventually reached a truce, but “lately we’ve seen an escalation.”

The Mongols and groups such as the Pagans, Bandidos and Outlaws are “pretty much in conflict with the Hells Angels,” Torres says, over the Angels’ “very aggressive” attempts to expand their turf. Biker gangs have fought for years over control of drug distribution, prostitution and other criminal enterprises.
In New York last month, 73 members of the Pagans were indicted on federal racketeering charges after a fatal brawl in February at a Hells Angels gathering in Plainview on Long Island.
Also last month, authorities in Ventura, Calif., won drug convictions against the head of the Hells Angels chapter and about 20 other members.
Last May, more than 30 alleged Mongols were charged with an array of crimes in a nationwide sweep after a two-year investigation.
Trials are underway in Montreal over a bloody, eight-year turf war between Hells Angels and rival gangs that has left more than 150 people dead, including 20 innocent civilians.

California police are investigating potential links between the Laughlin clash and the shooting death of another Hells Angel less than an hour after the casino fight. Christian Tate, 28, of San Diego was shot about 3 a.m. as he rode west on Interstate 40 near Ludlow, Calif., about 100 miles from Laughlin.

The bikers were in Laughlin for the 20th annual River Run, one of the USA’s largest motorcycle rallies. Witnesses say one Mongols member walked into a group of Hells Angels at a casino bar.

“One of the Hells Angels guys pulls out a gun and pops him in the head, and after that, it’s just pandemonium,” Police Sgt. Chuck Jones told the Associated Press.

Police officers arrested one alleged gunman. Two of the wounded reportedly were shooters as well. Police confiscated guns, knives and blackjacks.

More : usatoday.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 9:25 pm and is filed under Drug Attorney, Drug Distribution. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.