December 6 is remembered as the day a gunman walked on campus at UNLV, shot four professors and killed three. But on that same day, another violent incident happened in an unexpected place—the Arts District.

Underneath decorative lights strung from streetlight to streetlight, 62-year-old Gary Costa was driving his Dodge Charger north on Main Street, a high-traffic area for shoppers, diners, barhoppers and tourists. He stopped at a red light at Colorado Avenue around 7:30 p.m. when a group of bicyclists blocked all sides of the intersection, he said. When he honked in an attempt to drive forward, they surrounded him and pulled him from his car.

“This happened so fast. I was shocked,” Costa recalled in a December 20 interview with the Weekly.

“I was literally being beaten on the ground. And people were standing around videotaping it. Nobody once said, ‘Hey, stop that!’ I was lying in the middle of the street. Nobody came to my aid. One of the bicyclists came back and poured beer over my face. That’s what woke me up. I couldn’t walk so I jumped into my car and waited for an ambulance to show up.”

According to a witness report, Costa was “dragged out of his car, pulled to the ground and beaten.” The report states that three to four people were hitting Costa, and a few more surrounded him.

“Once the victim was up again and in his car, I drove past feeling unsafe myself as one of the men seemed to see me on my phone,” the witness told Las Vegas police.

Costa, who is the executive director of the local nonprofit Golden Rainbow, which helps people living with HIV/AIDS with housing and emergency assistance, opted for police to investigate the incident as a battery. However, he said he initially pushed for it to be investigated as a hate crime based on the perpetrators calling him gay slurs and the manner of their attack.

“They took turns stomping on my genitals and kicking me in the crotch … [calling] me faggot. So it started off just as an attack … a road rage kind of violent battery. And then it turned into a hate crime.”

Costa said he went to the emergency room and was released on crutches the next morning. As of January 3, he said he’s still in “excruciating” pain and needs to see a specialist for medical care.

In addition to the assault, the perpetrators did more than $9,000 worth of damage to his vehicle, he said.

The unknown offenders are described in the police report as a white male, age 25 to 30 and 6 feet tall, and a white female with auburn hair, age 20 to 30. They are accused of battery and tampering with a vehicle.

Police would not say whether they knew the identities of suspects because of the ongoing investigation. When Las Vegas Weekly requested security footage, Metro responded that footage was being withheld because police “interest in nondisclosure outweighs the public’s presumed right to access.”

“It’s been [weeks]. There’ve been no arrests. These people are still out there bicycling every Wednesday [with] no permits. And I’m sitting here learning to walk again,” Costa said. “I had to go to California and hide in an undisclosed location … because I don’t know if these guys are going to come kill me, because they’re not used to the police closing in on them.”

Aside from bringing his attackers to justice, Costa also has concerns about the group of bicyclists they were with. The group is known to do weekly rides—sometimes with attendees in the hundreds—organized on social media.

Before the attack, the group would meet in the Arts District at places like Berlin Bar’s parking lot, or Fremont East’s “Llama Lot.” But the scene on Wednesday, December 20, was largely subdued compared to past rides. The Weekly observed approximately 40 cyclists in East Fremont, the Arts District and on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Carlos Vivaldo, co-proprietor of Crank and Grind bicycle shop Downtown, which has been a meetup and organizing hub for the cyclists, says the smaller turnout is partly the result of police cracking down.

In a statement to the Weekly, Metro said “we have increased our presence in the area when we have advanced knowledge of the rides and have enforced traffic violations when they occur.”

“These rides have only recently become violent, and this is an isolated incident. The main issue is the bicycle riders are not obeying traffic laws and this causes friction between the riders and motorists,” the statement reads in part.

According to Vivaldo, police stopped him on his way to the December 13 group ride, told him about the December 6 assault and directed him to not ride with the group and to cancel that night’s ride on social media. Vivaldo also said police told him he would need to get a permit through the city for future rides.

A week later, Metro officers assisted the City of Las Vegas business licensing department with a “compliance check” at Vivaldo’s business, according to a police statement.

“City officials came in and left another letter about filing for permits to congregate or events,” Vivaldo said. “I don’t think I need a permit to ride my bike, if that’s all I’m doing.”

Vivaldo told the Weekly he does not plan to apply for a permit. He has refrained from riding with the group rides in recent weeks to comply with police’s requests, he said.

“I felt really targeted. … We never went out to set dozens of people on bikes to block the streets and have mobs endangering the public,” he added.

For Costa, the crackdown on the group of bicyclists hasn’t come soon enough. He sees a double standard in how the authorities treat the bicyclists compared to how they treat other groups that congregate and have planned events Downtown.

“I’ve been working in the LGBTQ community for many years. Whenever we want to have a protest or a march or gay pride parade, we have to have permits, we have to have porta-potties, we have to hire security. We have to go through all kinds of hoops just to have a one-day event. And here these people get to, week after week, block every street, slow traffic [and] vandalize. And the police don’t do anything. To me, that is totally discrimination,” Costa said.

“White guys on bicycles can do whatever they want. Gay people, Black Lives Matter—we would all be hauled off to jail if we attempted one time to do what they’re doing.”

Costa added that he plans to pursue a lawsuit against the City of Las Vegas for allowing the large group rides to continue over the years unabated. He also believes police could do more to find his attackers.

“I feel that it’s just being ignored and stuffed under the carpet. There’s been no mention of it anywhere in public by anybody except by me on social media.”

Las Vegas Weekly asked the City of Las Vegas what prior action the city has taken to abate the disobeying of traffic laws associated with the group of bicyclists.

“The City of Las Vegas is aware of this situation and is working with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department,” reads the City’s statement. “If a crime is committed, Metro is the lead agency in the investigation. The city does have jurisdiction over business licensing and can take disciplinary actions against businesses. In this case Metro contacted Crank and Grind Bicycle Shop about ongoing issues regarding this bicycle group. If someone feels they are in danger or witnessing a crime they should always call 911.”

The Weekly also asked the City of Las Vegas if deputy city marshals, who provide public safety in tourist corridors in the jurisdiction, support Metro police in patrolling the group rides. The following statement was provided:

“Police respond if a crime is being committed. The deputy City Marshals provide public safety at city parks and facilities, including more than 130 buildings, parks and trails. The city of Las Vegas is aware of the situation you describe and is working with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.”

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