Gang enhancement added to charges against Hells Angels members

Hells Angels motorcycle club members are again facing gang charges in connection with a highway shooting against a rival club in Henderson more than two years ago.

Prosecutors filed a superseding indictment Wednesday adding gang enhancements to the majority of charges against Richard Devries, Russell Smith, Stephen Alo, Cameron Treich, Taylor Rodriguez, Aaron Chun and Rayann Mollasgo.

In December, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that there was enough probable cause for the group to be classified as a criminal gang, overturning a 2023 decision from District Judge Tierra Jones that dismissed racketeering charges and multiple gang enhancements the defendants were facing.

Enhancements are added to charges against criminal defendants and can increase the length of a sentence if the defendant is convicted.

The defendants appeared in court Wednesday for the first time since the Supreme Court released the decision. District Judge Joe Hardy scheduled a trial for the case to start in April.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Dickerson told the judge he expects the trial should last “at least” four weeks.

Prosecutors have said the Hells Angels carried out the 2022 Memorial Day shooting on U.S. Highway 95 to target members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club. The shooting injured multiple Vagos motorcyclists and followed a Memorial Day weekend motorcycle ride from Hoover Dam to the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.

The defendants all face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, five counts of battery with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm, assault with a deadly weapon and five counts of illegally discharging a weapon. All of the counts, except for the conspiracy to commit murder charge, carry a gang enhancement.

Dickerson said that if convicted, a gang enhancement means the defendant could face up to an additional eight to 20 years in prison per charge. The enhancements would also prevent the defendants from being sentenced to probation.

An eighth defendant, Roneric Padilla, is facing an accessory to a felony charge. He is also still charged with racketeering, court records show, as he was not one of the defendants who filed the petition that led to Jones’ decision to dismiss the charge.

Prosecutors have accused Devries of being the president of the Las Vegas Hells Angels chapter, and that Smith and Alo, who were arrested with Devries shortly after the shooting, are “prospects.” Treich and Rodriguez are full-patch members, Chun is another “prospect,” and Mollasgo and Padilla were described as associates of the organization, also called “hangarounds.”

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.