{"article":{"id":248016,"heading":"Hell's Angels Boss Killed in Casino Gunfight","author":"Security Police News","created":"2011-09-27 15:10:23","modified":"2013-11-11 01:06:43","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 08:06:43","article":"
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\r\n\r\nSPARKS, Nev.Sept 25 2011 —The city canceled its part in an annual multi-city motorcycle festival on Saturday and neighboring Reno increased police patrol amid fears of retaliation over the shooting death of a prominent Hells Angels boss by a rival gang. \r\n\r\n\r\n
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\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nJeffrey \"Jethro\" Pettigrew, the 51-year-old head of the motorcycle gang's San Jose chapter, was killed late Friday in a shootout that sent hotel guests and gamblers diving under tables at John Ascuaga's Nugget hotel-casino, police said. Two California members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club also were wounded. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nThe gunfight apparently sparked a retaliatory drive-by shooting several hours after the casino gunfire, prompting Mayor Geno Martini to declare a formal state of emergency. A motorcyclist was injured after he was shot Saturday morning. \r\n
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\r\n\r\n\"We don't want to alarm our residents,\" he said. \"The declaration merely provides some tools and tactics our city can and should use if it comes to that.\"\r\n
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\r\n\r\n\"We don't expect further violence, but we must be prepared,\" he added.\r\n
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\r\n\r\nMartini said he also pulled the plug on the live entertainment and other festivities in Sparks related to Street Vibrations, an annual weekend-long event that has drawn tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts to the area for 18 years. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nFestival organizers had said they expected up to 30,000 visitors to this year's event, which began Thursday and was to run through Sunday in Reno, Sparks and Virginia City.\r\n
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\r\n\r\nThe man who was shot in the stomach during the drive-by shooting had been riding a motorcycle down the street from the public square where the festival was anchored. He was not being identified for his protection, police said.\r\n
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\r\n\r\nThat man was in stable condition, as were the two wounded Vagos members—Leonard Ramirez, 45, who was shot in the abdomen, and Diego Garcia, 28, who was shot in the leg.\r\n
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\r\n\r\nDeputy Police Chief Brian Allen said investigators could not independently link the casino to the attack on the cyclist, which was carried out by a gunman in a black sedan with tinted windows. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nBut Martini told the Reno Gazette-Journal that it \"definitely\" was a case of retaliation. \r\n
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\r\n\r\n\"After the retaliation, it's just too tense of a situation,\" he said. \"It's hard to say what's going to happen. It's just not worth the chance.\" \r\n
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\r\n\r\nSecurity also was heightened at the Reno hospital where the two Vagos members were being treated. All doors were locked there, except the emergency entrance. \r\n
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\r\n\r\n\r\nAllen said there were no suspects in the killing of Pettigrew but that police arrested one Hells Angel member from California in connection with the shootings at the casino. Cesar Villagrana, 36, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a stolen firearm, Allen said. He said Villagrana was caught on videotape shooting into the crowd, but there was no evidence yet that he struck anyone. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nAllen appealed for assistance from any witnesses who might have videotaped or photographed any portion of the incident. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nMartini said he had been in contact with Gov. Brian Sandoval, who pledged support if the city needed more law enforcement resources. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nAllen said law enforcement was monitoring traffic on I-80 and other main routes into Reno but had no indication any motorcycle clubs were attempting to marshal more forces in the area. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nReno police said they were increasing patrols but continuing the festival there, including downtown concerts on the main casino drag where the streets were closed to traffic. They also said they would request assistance from federal law enforcement if necessary. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nPolice said some hotel-casinos in Reno intended to staff their doors and allow entry only to registered guests Saturday night. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nWitnesses to the casino shootout described chaos erupting after a group of Vagos club members was confronted by Hells Angels members at the Nugget. Daniel Sharp, of Stockton, Calif., told the Reno Gazette-Journal that within five minutes, shots rang out: \"It was mayhem.\" \r\n
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\r\n\r\nJoe Franco, of Reno, said he saw one Hells Angel member pull out a gun after he was knocked to the ground in a fistfight. \r\n
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\r\n\r\n\"He was down with the bloody nose, gets up and pulls out the gun, and that's the first shot\" apparently at the man who punched him, Franco told the Gazette-Journal. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nThe casino was evacuated and put on lockdown around midnight. The Nugget said in a statement that the casino and all its restaurants had since reopened, but that in addition to its own \"extensive security force,\" uniformed officers would patrol inside the casino for the rest of the weekend. \r\n
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\r\n\r\nAuthorities in Arizona arrested more than two dozen members of the two gangs in August 2010 after a shootout between them wounded five people but none seriously in the small community of Chino Valley, north of Prescott.\r\n
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\r\n\r\nTags: Hells Angels, motorcycle gang, motorcycle festival, Jeffrey \"Jethro\" Pettigrew,Hell's Angels San Jose chapter, Vagos Motorcycle Club, shooting, Ascuaga's Nugget hotel-casino\r\n\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"Witnesses to the casino shootout described chaos erupting after a group of Vagos club members was confronted by Hells Angels members at the Nugget. Daniel Sharp, of Stockton, Calif., told the Reno Gazette-Journal that within five minutes, shots rang out: "It was mayhem." ","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2011\/09\/248016.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}