Laughlin River Run Riot
The Laughlin River Run Riot , also known as the River Run Riot , was a confrontation between the Hells Angels and the Mongols MC in the area of the Laughlin River Run in Nevada . In the casino and hotel Harrah's Laughlin there was an argument between the two motorcycle clubs on the night of April 26th to 27th, 2002, which resulted in three deaths and numerous injuries.
Sequence of events
The Laughlin River Run is a major event of the biker scene in Laughlin . The meeting, which has been held annually since 1983, has a high number of participants; in 2005, for example, 70,000 visitors came. In addition to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and Daytona Beach Bike Week , this is the largest event on the US biker scene. The event also attracts many members of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs . In 2002, both the Mongols and the Hells Angels attended the event. Four days were largely peaceful. The two gangs were housed separately from each other. While the Mongols were housed in Harrah's Laughlin, the Hells Angels resided in the more distant Flamingo . As the Mongols moved into their rooms, they noticed several members of the Hells Angels and verbal abuse broke out. At first, however, it remained peaceful.
Later that night, more Hells Angels arrived at the hotel's casino and occupied the bar. A group of other Hells Angels then entered the building, apparently armed and under the influence of drugs. The mutual provocations peak when a Hells Angel kicked a Mongol. A mass brawl developed, in which firearms were later used. When the police showed up, the rockers fled the casino. After the brawl, the Mongol Anthony Barrera was stabbed to death and the two Hells Angels Jeramine Bell and Robert Tumely were found shot. At least ten rockers were hospitalized, some with serious injuries.
Police later seized 107 knives, fourteen firearms and several other weapon-like items. That same night, another Hells Angel was shot dead on Interstate 40 and another was found dead in Arizona. Both cases were never cleared up, but due to their temporal proximity, mostly mentioned in connection with the River Run Riot.
The process
Although the police were able to secure the surveillance videos of the casino and the material was also broadcast on various television programs, the process dragged on over several years. A total of six members of each club were indicted and sentenced to relatively low prison terms. The six Hells Angels made partial confessions and were each punished with 30 months in prison. One Mongol confessed to firing the fatal shots in a self-defense situation and was sentenced to 18 to 45 months in prison. The remaining Mongols received terms of between two and a half and five years in prison.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Denise Rosch: Laughlin welcomes 70,000 to annual River Run. (No longer available online.) News 3, archived from the original on April 2, 2015 ; Retrieved June 7, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c Stefan Schubert: How the Hells Angels conquered Germany's underworld . 2nd Edition. riva Verlag, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-86883-248-8 , p. 111-115 .
- ^ How the River Run Riot changed history. (No longer available online.) US Rider News, April 27, 2002, formerly original ; Retrieved June 7, 2013 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Chris O'Connell: Security video captures deadly melee between biker gangs at Nevada casino. Court TV , June 1, 2005, accessed June 7, 2013 .
- ↑ Howard Abadinsky: Organized Crime . Cengage Learning, 2009, ISBN 978-0-495-59966-1 , pp. 253 .
