Oregon men relate beginning of fatal fracas.
By: Adrienne Packer
Review - Journal
Two Oregon men who traveled to the Laughlin River Run in 2002 were checking into Harrah's casino when a swarm of Hells Angels rushed past them in the lobby. One biker held a claw hammer, others had knives in sheathes hanging from their belts, the men testified Friday.
Jeff King, a Harley-Davidson owner attending the event for the first time, told jurors in the Hells Angels trial that one of the bikers bumped into his friend as they entered the casino lobby.
"He told him he better get the blank out of the way because trouble's about Advertisement to happen," King said Friday.
Two minutes later, King and his friend, Walter Buce, heard two gunshots from a small handgun. They then heard sounds from what he believed to be a high-powered weapon. They both took cover.
King testified that a flood of people came toward the door. Among them was a Hispanic man holding a knife covered with blood. He was unable to identify the man as a Mongol or a Hells Angels.
King and Buce were two of the government's first four witnesses Friday in the case against 11 Hells Angels Motorcycle Club members. The bikers face charges of attempted murder and racketeering, crimes for which they face life-long prison sentences.
The charges stem from a brawl between the Hells Angels and their rivals, the Mongols, inside the casino on April 27, 2002.
The government contends the Hells Angels are a criminal organization that plotted the attack on the Mongols. Defense attorneys say the Hells Angels defended themselves from an onslaught of Mongols who converged on them unprovoked.
Two Hells Angels and one Mongol died in the battle.
King's testimony was consistent with the defense's claim that a Mongol twice fired a .22-caliber weapon at Hells Angels members. The gunfire was followed by shots from a Las Vegas Police officers' .45-caliber handgun, defense attorneys told jurors during their opening statements earlier this week.
Two special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms described to jurors raids that occurred in Dec. 3, 2003, at the Hells Angels' clubhouse in San Bernardino, Calif., and at the Watsonville, Calif., home of defendant Justin Harrah.
Agent Marc Jackson said agents confiscated Harrah's Hells Angels vest and two framed drawings depicting Hells Angels characters holding pistols. In one sketch, the character is standing over an individual who had been shot.
Attorney David Chesnoff interrupted Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Johnson's questioning of Jackson about the different Hells Angels clothing found at the house.
"To help move this along, we'd stipulate that they're all members," Chesnoff said, pointing to the Hells Angels lined up at the defense table. "We confess, your honor."
During two days of opening statements, defense attorneys repeatedly told jurors that the men cannot be convicted for belonging to the motorcycle club.
Defense attorney Robert Draskovich, who represents Harrah, walked jurors through the morning Harrah's home was raided.
Jackson acknowledged that some 38 agents and police officers arrived at Harrah's home at 6 a.m. on a December morning. They all wore full body armor, some had face masks and most carried high-powered weapons.
When they pounded on Harrah's front door, he answered unclothed.
Jackson testified Harrah was immediately handcuffed and escorted to a police car.
"You were concerned he was armed, being naked?" Draskovich asked.
Draskovich said the only other people in the home were Harrah's girlfriend and his two boys, ages 18 months and 7 years old.
Jackson told jurors that during their search, agents found two loaded weapons and a "hide-a-key" container in the garage. Inside the key holder was a small piece of paper with police mug shots of Mongols. He said the photographs had been issued to law enforcement, but not to the general public.
Chesnoff repeatedly objected to evidence collected after the Laughlin melee, saying it does not prove the Hells Angels' motives when they attended the event.
He then asked Jackson about the mug shots found hidden on Harrah's property; "If you knew someone had tried to kill you or your friends, would you try to identify those people?" Jackson answered yes.
Harrah is seen on the casino security video during the brawl. He doesn't take part in the fight, but prosecutors said his mere presence was enough to show he is part of the Hells Angels organization that planned the attack.
Inside the Hells Angels club house, agents found a roster listing members and their phone numbers. They also confiscated an application for incorporation. The Hells Angels are a registered corporation in California.
The trial, scheduled to last four months, resumes Tuesday.
