Tuesday, April 30, 2002 | 11:03 a.m.
Metro homicide detectives expect more arrests will be made in Saturday's deadly melee at Harrah's in Laughlin, but say those arrests won't come soon.
"This case is like no other I've ever seen before in that we have so many dead and we presume that we have more than one assailant," homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said. "This is going to be one lengthy investigation so you should buckle in for the long haul."
Meanwhile, court documents say police had been warned that the annual gathering of motorcycle riders could turn violent.
Just after 2 a.m. Saturday, police allege, members of rival motorcycle gangs, the Hells Angels and the Mongols, got into a gun and knife fight inside Harrah's.
According to court documents, nearly 30 Hells Angels members left the Flamingo Hilton where they normally stay and went over to Harrah's, knowing that is where the Mongols traditionally stay.
Once inside, they headed immediately to Rosa's Cantina and the fight broke out.
"Numerous gunshots were heard as (Metro Police) officers were entering the hotel," an arrest report reads.
Three California men -- Jeramie Dean Bell, 27, of Hughson, Robert Emmet Tumelty, 50, of Stockton, and Anthony Salvador Barrera, 43, of Rancho Cucamonga -- were killed.
Twelve others, including five hospitalized at University Medical Center, were injured.
According to the court documents, law enforcement agencies were aware before the start of the Laughlin River Run that there was the potential for violence.
"Intelligence reports indicated the Mongols intended to bolster their status by attacking members of the Hells Angels. Early on, several minor incidents occurred between these two groups," a Metro arrest report says.
Duff Taylor, president of the Laughlin Chamber of Commerce, said that Metro Police may have informed casino operators of potential violence between feuding motorcycle gangs. But Taylor suggested that police may not have had information on specific gangs.
"It was known that there was some tension between outlaw gangs. But I don't think it was known specifically what gang was going to be more aggressive than another gang," Taylor said.
More than 300 law enforcement officers were assigned in and around Laughlin for the event, including more than 200 Metro officers. Other agencies included the California and Nevada highway patrols, National Park Service, Mohave County Sheriff, Arizona Department of Public Safety, Bullhead City Police, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI.
Normally Laughlin has a contingent of 36 Metro officers, but the beefed-up police presence was typical for the River Run, a Metro spokesman said.
One Hells Angel member, Calvin Schaefer of Chandler, Ariz., was arrested on murder charges and is scheduled to make his first court appearance before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis Wednesday.
The arrest report states Schaefer is seen on a surveillance tape pulling out a 9 mm weapon, firing it numerous times and then hiding it in a trash can.
"I fully anticipate additional arrests will be made, but only after careful consideration of the videos, an examination of the evidence and consultations with the district attorney's office," Monahan said.
By this morning one of the five UMC patients had been released and the other four were in good or fair condition, hospital spokesman Rick Plummer said.
Hospital security and Metro officers were carefully monitoring visitors in the wing in which the bikers were recovering, he said.
Monahan said the fact the violence occurred in a casino is a "double-edged sword," because while it was caught on surveillance video, there is a large crime scene to analyze and a large number of witnesses.
Metro personnel spent Saturday collecting evidence at the crime scene and interviewing witnesses, Monahan said. Most of Sunday was spent at the coroner's office.
"(Monday) we've been going through all of the witness interviews, duplicating the videos and assessing where we're at," Monahan said.
Monahan said it is clear the three victims were among the 2 percent of all motorcyclists who are "outlaw bikers."
Friends of Robert Tumelty's said they find that hard to believe. Kimberley Minasian and her father, Daniel Minasian, own Angel's Mattresses, which is next to Tumelty's motorcycle shop in Stockton, Calif.
"There is no way in heck he was an outlaw biker. No way in heck," Daniel Minasian said. "He was a member of an organization just like any other organization. I've never heard of any trouble with the Hells Angels in Stockton."
The Minasians, who said Tumelty went by the nickname of "Festus," was a generous man who organized benefits anytime anyone was in need, including one when a fellow biker died and needed a headstone.
Tumelty also organized an annual Christmas biker toy run for children in Stockton, the Minasians said.
Both Minasians said Tumelty will be missed.
"Everybody loved him," Daniel Minasian said. "He was the wrong person to die. He was too good a person."
Sun reporters Jeff Libby and Jace Radke contributed to this story.
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