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View Full Version : Hells Angel trial is over......



DILLIGAF
10-12-2006, 05:45 AM
Sounds like they got a pretty good deal out of this. Sure isn't life in prison which is what they were looking at orginally. Myself and a lot of friends were just down from Harrahs when this all took place. It was total chaos and officers with automatic weapons were everywhere. When this happened they locked down the entire strip in Laughlin and closed the bridge so as to stop HA and Mongol memmbers from escaping the scene. We did manage to get accross the bridge to get home though.
By KEN RITTER
Wednesday, October 11, 2006 9:47 PM PDT
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS - A federal racketeering trial against 11 Hells Angels members came to a sudden end Wednesday when six defendants in a deadly casino brawl pleaded to reduced charges that fell short of government claims their motorcycle club was an ongoing criminal racket.
‘‘There is no implication whatsoever from this plea that the Hells Angels is a criminal enterprise,'' said lawyer David Chesnoff, the unofficial chief of a defense team of more than a dozen lawyers.
U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan accepted guilty pleas from four Hells Angels and no contest pleas from two others to federal charges of committing a violent crime, battery, in aid of racketeering. Earlier in the day, the men entered plea agreements in a parallel state criminal case.
Calvin Schaefer, Raymond Foakes, Rodney Cox and James Hannigan admitted in federal court they acted together as individuals in committing a violent felony. Maurice ‘‘Pete'' Eunice and Dale Leedom conceded the government could prove that charge against them.
All federal charges were dropped against the other five defendants in the trial, and the judge said that at sentencing he will dismiss all charges against 31 other Hells Angels members whose trials were due to follow.
The 11 men standing trial were the first of 42 Hells Angels facing federal charges stemming from allegations they conspired to brawl with rival Mongols members at the 2002 Laughlin River Run. Two Hells Angels and a Mongols member died and at least a dozen people were injured in the bloody battle inside Harrah's Laughlin hotel-casino.
The case began falling apart last week, with defense lawyers accusing government agents and prosecutors of flagrant misconduct.
Prosecutors struck a deal that, for five of the six men, resulted in the promise of no more than 2 1/2 years in prison on both state and federal charges. Convictions on the most serious charges had held the possibility of life in prison.
Schaefer, 37, from Chandler, Ariz., faces the promise of a stiffer sentence than the rest - five years in federal prison - because the Las Vegas cases will be folded in with his sentence for federal drug charges.
Mahan accepted the guilty pleas from Schaefer, Cox, 44, of Phoenix, Foakes, 43, of Petaluma, Calif., and Hannigan, 39, of Mountain View, Calif., and no contest pleas from Eunice, 55, of Lakeside, Calif., and Leedom, 43, of Two Rivers, Alaska.
Earlier on Wednesday, Schaefer, Cox, Leedom and Hannigan pleaded guilty and Eunice pleaded no contest to state charges of felony battery. Foakes pleaded guilty to challenge to fight, a felony.
All federal charges were dropped Wednesday against Sohn Regas, 39, of Reno; Ron Arnone, 42, of Tacoma, Wash.; Justin Harrah, 36, of Watsonville, Calif.; Donald Smith, 56, of Bullhead City; and Michael Smullen, 48, of Pinole, Calif. Smullen was identified as president of the Hells Angels chapter in Richmond, Calif.

CampbellCarl
10-12-2006, 07:59 AM
Friends and I left Harrah's around midnite that night, returning to my moho parked at the Riverside RV park. Woke next morning to return a lady to Harrah's only to find the place in lockdown, no cells would works, very bizzare day and weekend. Doesn't seem like much jail time to me......WTF?
Carl

DILLIGAF
10-12-2006, 08:05 AM
Friends and I left Harrah's around midnite that night, returning to my moho parked at the Riverside RV park. Woke next morning to return a lady to Harrah's only to find the place in lockdown, no cells would works, very bizzare day and weekend. Doesn't seem like much jail time to me......WTF?
Carl
The government took 2-3 years to bring the trial up and it seems they didn't have their shit together. How do you take that long to prepare/bring charges and let it fall apart so quickly? Not very impressive work by the government at all.
Oh well.....

wsuwrhr
10-12-2006, 08:09 AM
Don't think this was going to pass on by.
Do tell "a lady"
Brian
Woke next morning to return a lady to Harrah's only to find the place in lockdown
Carl

wsuwrhr
10-12-2006, 08:11 AM
Are you surprised?
If anyone ran their business like the DMV, post office, and and and none of us would be in business.
Brian
Not very impressive work by the government at all.
Oh well.....

Hustler
10-12-2006, 08:16 AM
The government took 2-3 years to bring the trial up and it seems they didn't have their shit together. How do you take that long to prepare/bring charges and let it fall apart so quickly? Not very impressive work by the government at all.
Oh well.....
:idea: This would'nt be the first time either.

wsuwrhr
10-12-2006, 08:20 AM
I wonder how much of my 33-1/3% of my yearly income was hard at work.
I have always had the feeling my government would spend my money better if THEY had to earn it.
Brian

BBB
10-12-2006, 09:01 AM
On a somewhat related topic (don't know if this has already been covered?) They (the Hells Angels) have won a few civil lawsuits up here in the Bay Area over the killing of three of their dogs which occurred during a series of police raids a couple of years back. Total judgements of ~$1.5 MILLION were awarded to them! More of your hard earned tax dollars at work.

SHOTKALLIN
10-12-2006, 09:06 AM
Organized crime has big money. Big money has big lawyers.

CampbellCarl
10-12-2006, 09:14 AM
OK Brian
Should I have called her a biker biotch? Just tryin' to be PC in what I am coming to know as a non-PC forum!
Carl