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River Run riot
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River Run riot
The River Run riot was a violent confrontation between the Hells Angels and Mongols motorcycle clubs that occurred on April 27, 2002, in Laughlin, Nevada during the Laughlin River Run.
Laughlin is a town just 80 miles south of Las Vegas that in 2002 had 9 casinos and 8,000 people. Every April about 100,000 people arrive in Laughlin for the River Run. Amongst the bikers who arrived in Laughlin were the members of the Hells Angels and Mongols.
The Mongols were the only outlaw biker gang allowed to wear California on their patches after winning a biker war with the Hells Angels over the issue in the 1970s-1980s, which caused much ill-will. The Mongols were 90% Hispanic while the Hells Angels were all white. The Mongols tended to be younger and many did not know how to ride motorcycles while the Hells Angels tended to be middle-aged and usually did know to ride motorcycles. The Mongols had been expanding in southern California. In 2002, the Mongols had 39 chapters in southern California vs. 5 Hells Angels chapters in southern California. On April 25, 2002, Sonny Barger, the Hells Angel leader arrived in Laughlin for the River Run. The Hells Angels stayed at the Flamingo Hilton while the Mongols stayed at Harrah's.
At the Flamingo Hilton casino, a group of Mongols stormed in to stare at the Hells Angels. John Ciccone, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who was present told the Canadian journalists Julian Sher and William Marsden: "They [the Mongols] just stood there and eye-fucked everybody. The HAs didn't do anything. And every time the HAs didn't respond, that made the Mongols in everybody's eyes look like they were the "badder" group. And the Hells Angels were just biting their lips because they were trying to keep this clean image". The Las Vegas police normally had 5 to 7 officers to monitor the River Run, but in 2002 owing to budget cutbacks the Vegas police had only 2 officers assigned to the River Run. Detective Tom Allen of the Vegas police told Sher and Marsden: "It was basically useless; we caught a lot of stuff, but we missed a lot of stuff".
At about 9:30 pm on April 26, 2002, a group of Mongols went into the Golden Nugget casino to surround a Hells Angel motorcycle on display in the front lobby to prevent anyone from seeing it. At about 11: 30 pm, the Mongols finally left the Golden Nugget to return to Harrah's. A Mongol leader promised a police officer that there would be no more trouble that night. Another police officer visited the Flamingo Hilton to ask the Angels for restraint, and received the reply: "We have chosen a life of outlaws; we plan to live the life of outlaws. We don't need the police department...We don't care what the fuck you do, we're going to do what we have to do to protect ourselves".
At the Harrah's Laughlin casino hotel, a group of Hells Angels arrived. A Mongol deliberately bumped into a Hells Angel. A witness later state: "You could just see daggers coming out of this guy's eyes. They were restless, they were uneasy, they were on edge". Jay Buhr, a blackjack dealer remembered the exchange shortly after 2 am where a Hells Angel said: "We don't want to start this in here. Let's take it outside". Buhr picked up the telephone to call his manager: "We don't have enough security for what's going to happen".
The Hells Angels at Harrah's used their cell phones to ask for help from the other Angels still at Hilton. Accordingly, to witnesses, David "Monty" Elliot of the Anchorage chapter told the other Angels "what choice do we have?" while another shouted "let's mount up!" The Hells Angels rode over to Harrah's. Gary Hood of the Vegas police recalled: "they jumped off their bikes in this area and ran into the entrance". A guest, Jeffery King, who had just arrived in the front lobby to check in was told by the Angels who stormed in: "Better get the fuck out of here because trouble is about to start!" Leading the Angels were Raymond "Ray Ray" Foakes, the sergeant-at-arms of the Sonoma County chapter. Sher and Marsden wrote: "The Angels acted with military precision, a small group acting as sentries around the bar".
At about 2:16 am, the security cameras recorded that Foakes kicked a Mongol in the chest, which started the brawl. The Mongols and the Hells Angels fought with guns, wrenches, hammers and knives. A tourist, Kerry Richard, recorded the shots that rang out as: "Boom! Boom! Pop! Pop!" Richard saw a man bleeding from a gunshot wound trying to push his bikers vest with the Mongol patch behind the slot machines. Richard recalled: "Then it dawned on me that he wasn't a regular patron like myself, he was a Mongol and he was trying to hide his colors". Another tourist, John Davidson, took cover under the gambling table along with his chips worth $1,200 and had to pull down the blackjack dealer whom he stated: "She was screaming out of control". A blackjack dealer who had taken cover under the roulette wheel called her husband on her cell phone to ask if he was safe. The husband, who worked as a bartender, had taken cover under the bar and asked his wife in return if she was safe. She replied that she was, but that she had a corpse right next to her. Sher and Marsden wrote: "With little regard for innocent bystanders, the bikers went at each other like Vikings on a battlefield-and it was all captured on more than four hundred surveillance tapes". A Hells Angel, Cal Schaefer, was recorded by the cameras swinging a ball-peen hammer at two Mongols, to be followed by pulling out his handgun and firing several shots. Schaefer shot a Mongol, Richard Nolan, who had to be hospitalized.
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River Run riot
The River Run riot was a violent confrontation between the Hells Angels and Mongols motorcycle clubs that occurred on April 27, 2002, in Laughlin, Nevada during the Laughlin River Run.
Laughlin is a town just 80 miles south of Las Vegas that in 2002 had 9 casinos and 8,000 people. Every April about 100,000 people arrive in Laughlin for the River Run. Amongst the bikers who arrived in Laughlin were the members of the Hells Angels and Mongols.
The Mongols were the only outlaw biker gang allowed to wear California on their patches after winning a biker war with the Hells Angels over the issue in the 1970s-1980s, which caused much ill-will. The Mongols were 90% Hispanic while the Hells Angels were all white. The Mongols tended to be younger and many did not know how to ride motorcycles while the Hells Angels tended to be middle-aged and usually did know to ride motorcycles. The Mongols had been expanding in southern California. In 2002, the Mongols had 39 chapters in southern California vs. 5 Hells Angels chapters in southern California. On April 25, 2002, Sonny Barger, the Hells Angel leader arrived in Laughlin for the River Run. The Hells Angels stayed at the Flamingo Hilton while the Mongols stayed at Harrah's.
At the Flamingo Hilton casino, a group of Mongols stormed in to stare at the Hells Angels. John Ciccone, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who was present told the Canadian journalists Julian Sher and William Marsden: "They [the Mongols] just stood there and eye-fucked everybody. The HAs didn't do anything. And every time the HAs didn't respond, that made the Mongols in everybody's eyes look like they were the "badder" group. And the Hells Angels were just biting their lips because they were trying to keep this clean image". The Las Vegas police normally had 5 to 7 officers to monitor the River Run, but in 2002 owing to budget cutbacks the Vegas police had only 2 officers assigned to the River Run. Detective Tom Allen of the Vegas police told Sher and Marsden: "It was basically useless; we caught a lot of stuff, but we missed a lot of stuff".
At about 9:30 pm on April 26, 2002, a group of Mongols went into the Golden Nugget casino to surround a Hells Angel motorcycle on display in the front lobby to prevent anyone from seeing it. At about 11: 30 pm, the Mongols finally left the Golden Nugget to return to Harrah's. A Mongol leader promised a police officer that there would be no more trouble that night. Another police officer visited the Flamingo Hilton to ask the Angels for restraint, and received the reply: "We have chosen a life of outlaws; we plan to live the life of outlaws. We don't need the police department...We don't care what the fuck you do, we're going to do what we have to do to protect ourselves".
At the Harrah's Laughlin casino hotel, a group of Hells Angels arrived. A Mongol deliberately bumped into a Hells Angel. A witness later state: "You could just see daggers coming out of this guy's eyes. They were restless, they were uneasy, they were on edge". Jay Buhr, a blackjack dealer remembered the exchange shortly after 2 am where a Hells Angel said: "We don't want to start this in here. Let's take it outside". Buhr picked up the telephone to call his manager: "We don't have enough security for what's going to happen".
The Hells Angels at Harrah's used their cell phones to ask for help from the other Angels still at Hilton. Accordingly, to witnesses, David "Monty" Elliot of the Anchorage chapter told the other Angels "what choice do we have?" while another shouted "let's mount up!" The Hells Angels rode over to Harrah's. Gary Hood of the Vegas police recalled: "they jumped off their bikes in this area and ran into the entrance". A guest, Jeffery King, who had just arrived in the front lobby to check in was told by the Angels who stormed in: "Better get the fuck out of here because trouble is about to start!" Leading the Angels were Raymond "Ray Ray" Foakes, the sergeant-at-arms of the Sonoma County chapter. Sher and Marsden wrote: "The Angels acted with military precision, a small group acting as sentries around the bar".
At about 2:16 am, the security cameras recorded that Foakes kicked a Mongol in the chest, which started the brawl. The Mongols and the Hells Angels fought with guns, wrenches, hammers and knives. A tourist, Kerry Richard, recorded the shots that rang out as: "Boom! Boom! Pop! Pop!" Richard saw a man bleeding from a gunshot wound trying to push his bikers vest with the Mongol patch behind the slot machines. Richard recalled: "Then it dawned on me that he wasn't a regular patron like myself, he was a Mongol and he was trying to hide his colors". Another tourist, John Davidson, took cover under the gambling table along with his chips worth $1,200 and had to pull down the blackjack dealer whom he stated: "She was screaming out of control". A blackjack dealer who had taken cover under the roulette wheel called her husband on her cell phone to ask if he was safe. The husband, who worked as a bartender, had taken cover under the bar and asked his wife in return if she was safe. She replied that she was, but that she had a corpse right next to her. Sher and Marsden wrote: "With little regard for innocent bystanders, the bikers went at each other like Vikings on a battlefield-and it was all captured on more than four hundred surveillance tapes". A Hells Angel, Cal Schaefer, was recorded by the cameras swinging a ball-peen hammer at two Mongols, to be followed by pulling out his handgun and firing several shots. Schaefer shot a Mongol, Richard Nolan, who had to be hospitalized.