Mongols arrive in Boulder City for convention
The attendant at the Boulder City Shell station on Nevada Way looked through the big glass window toward the street.
She wasn't sure when they would come.
"Sometime today," she said Friday.
It was 11:30 a.m.
A man at one of the gas pumps cleaned his windshield. His passenger wondered aloud about the reason for all the police cars.
Boulder City police cruised Nevada Way in white-and-blue SUVs. An unmarked, white Dodge Charger with black tinted windows and a spotlight was parked at a nearby intersection. Even the Shell parking lot had a police presence - two Las Vegas officers sat in a black-and-white cruiser. A shotgun was propped between them, pointed toward the roof.
The man answered his passenger's question as he worked on the windshield.
Not all the explanation could be heard. He said something about "Laughlin" and something about "shooting" as he detailed the reason Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas and federal law enforcement vehicles were so visible. He was talking about the Mongols Motorcycle Club, the controversial group arriving in town for a three-day national convention.
But when?
Engine noises drew eyes toward the street. A truck with a loud exhaust. An accelerating hot rod. Both made the people on the Starbucks patio stop drinking their coffee to peer down the road.
The first bikers arrived at 12:15 p.m. The group was small, 10 motorcycles that didn't make much noise. A similar group followed within the hour.
But then, at 1:30 p.m. a pack of headlights materialized on the roadway horizon. About 180 motorcycles were cruising in a close, tight bunch. Some Mongols sought attention, rolling back on the gas to make some extra noise for the people on the sidewalk taking pictures. Others chose to remain anonymous, wearing black bandanas over their faces and dark sunglasses over their eyes.
About 300 Mongols are expected for the convention in the town of 15,000, raising concerns among residents and law enforcement. Today , the Las Vegas chapter of the Hells Angels is meeting in Las Vegas. The Mongols and the Hells Angels have a history of conflict in Southern Nevada.
A 2002 brawl at Harrah's casino in Laughlin left two Hells Angels and one Mongol dead. Another fight between the groups occurred at a Las Vegas wedding chapel in 2008.
Boulder City Chief of Police Thomas Finn said he has assurance from the Mongols that there will be no violence between the two groups.
On Friday, the pack switched to a single-file line as it drove down Nevada Way. One by one, the Mongols rolled past the flashing sign that asks everyone who visits to "Be Nice Be Boulder!"
The bikes began to turn left and right as their owners eased them into hotel parking lots.
One Mongol who had a California patch on his leather vest didn't use his turn signal. A Las Vegas police officer switched on his lights. Three more police cars pulled in as backup. The bearded man got off his motorcycle. He was asked to place his hands on the trunk of a police car while the officer filled out the pink ticket.
Stephen Stubbs, the legal counsel for the Mongols in Nevada, saw the commotion.
He crossed the street to check it out. He ended up with a ticket, too.
"I got a ticket from a detective in criminal intelligence for jaywalking," the attorney in the leather vest said with a smile.
That was about as wild as things got Friday afternoon.
"So far it's been fairly quiet other than Stubbs jaywalking," Finn said by phone just before 3 p.m.
The chief heard about the incident from the scanner in his home. He had been trying to catch up on some rest after working an 18-hour shift.
His next shift would start in three hours. He expected to be on duty until 4 a.m.
He hoped things would remain quiet after the sun set.
"The weekend is young," he said before hanging up.
Contact Ben Frederickson at bfrederickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512.
