Hells Angel Boss Dead in Nevada Casino Shootout 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. Jeffrey "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 members of the Vagos gang also were wounded. The 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. "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." "We don't expect further violence, but we must be prepared," he added. Martini 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. Festival 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. The man who was injured during the drive-by shooting had been riding a motorcycle near the public square where the festival was anchored. Deputy 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. But Martini told the Reno Gazette-Journal that it "definitely" was a case of retaliation. "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." Security also was heightened at the Reno hospital where the two Vagos members were in stable condition. All doors were locked there, except the emergency entrance. Allen said police arrested one Hells Angel member in connection with the casino shooting. He said officers made a number of other arrests but he provided no details. Martini said he had been in contact with Gov. Brian Sandoval, who pledged support if the city needed more law enforcement resources. Allen 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. Reno 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. Police said some hotel-casinos in Reno intended to staff their doors and allow entry only to registered guests Saturday night. 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." Joe Franco, of Reno, said he saw one Hells Angel member pull out a gun after he was knocked to the ground in a fistfight. "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. The 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. Authorities 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. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/2...asino-shootout/?test=latestnews#ixzz1YxSZQNJW http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/2...ad-in-nevada-casino-shootout/?test=latestnews Why not outlaw criminal gang membership? Are we going to let gangs pull a Mexico on us? Why pay taxes then? _
This is something I don't get why people complain about. This isn't unlisted memberships of groups that hold no official status. These are groups that have official membership dues and own the copyright to their logos. I see the stretch for street gangs and declaring "gang colours" to be illegal but these motorcycle clubs even pay taxes, they can be tied to crime and it can be established those crimes come from their leadership. If companies can be held accountable for illegal actions, corruption and conspiracy of a few then these clubs should be held to the same accountability.
Wow, I have gone to Street Vibrations for years, and this is the first year I missed thankfully. This event draws about 150,000 riders from all over the country, and has been very peaceful in the past. What a shame that has just changed. I guess selling my Harley last February turned out to be a good thing
No mention of Booze,Broads or Drugs.What a bummer. There's no meat to this story.I wanna hear about wild orgies and stacked chicks givin head in the parkin lot with kegs of beer on back of custom choppers.Roaches from smoked joints everywhere and little smidgens of white powder dusting curbs. Man ... Bee For Real.
How does one outlaw criminal gang membership? You already have RICO laws. If you outlawed criminal gang membership, wouldn't you just have a bunch of outlaws joining criminal gangs? Your proposal makes no sense unless you are going to strip someone of their right to free association.
Yep, these thugs masquerading as benificent 'clubs', who can only communicate by urinating, are an insult to humans.
Laws already exist that make shooting people illegal. Please feel free to describe a law that would prevent people from joining an organization whose membership is not really known and who may or may not contain people that may or may not break a law.
Of course not, it was an attempt at diverting the topic. So what is this law you think should be created?
By having laws that make it illegal for them to hold an official chapter house for their criminal gang? By having laws that make it illegal for them to have fund raisers and charity drives when they are behind massive narcotic shipments and sales? By having laws that make it illegal to give donations and own a copyright to a club that has ordered assassinations on innocent people? These sorts of laws don't effect street gangs like the Bloods, nor do they effect underground organized crime like the Mafia. What they do however is destroy a major organizational tool, organization being at the heart of it all, of a known and factually proven criminal organization. Striking a serious blow to their power structure and wiping out a seriously disgusting sympathy vote through their so-called "legitimate" undertakings. I've got no problem with criminals in "unofficial" gangs hanging around with each other (as long as it does not violate any parole limitations they may have) or wearing the same colors. What I have a problem with is people who are legally able to join a criminal gang and pay dues that are recognized on government tax forms. You want to hold them to the same equality as corporations and other legal clubs? Then they must be held accountable in the face of evidence of deliberate and repeated criminal activity of the organization as a whole.
Really? Meeting should be illegal? Let me consult my Constitution on that. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Well, looks to me like if they are not doing anything wrong at that moment, they can get together if they like. Are they behind massive narcotic shipments? There are already laws governing that. Wow. Outlawing charity? Sorry, but this farce by the OP is a pipe dream. There are already laws that will punish them for criminal acts.
Having scanned down through the posts, is it possible that I have missed something obvious??? Are the gun control advocates still asleep on this Monday morn/afternoon?
Will the GOP or Tea Party do a "Patch Over" with the Biker Gangs , I see a new voting block to go with the Neocon Jews who have left the Democrat party ...
This wasn't a shoot-out, it was a minor skirmish. I do predict that Vagos' blood will run like water before this is settled though.
Oh, cute. You think deliberately ignoring my very specific posts will give you an argument. Yeah, no. They are a registered organization. They, as a club, own buildings. Nobody is stopping private individuals owning properties. They are stopping a criminal organization from owning buildings. Nobody is stopping the biker gangs from meeting. Nobody is taking away anyones rights. They are holding a registered club legally accountable and outlawing it and it's ability to hold property on the grounds of it's repeated criminal actions. If they want to have a club house, they can find some chump (who will take all the blame when the place is eventually raided for their crimes) to buy it and allow them use. Try again. This time read and learn the law. They ARE doing something illegal. The club as a whole is directly responsible for criminal activity. They wouldn't even be able to claim it was one or two members or a corrupt leader defying what the club stands for, the evidence is overwhelming regarding their deliberate and consistent criminal undertakings. No business or CEO in the world would be allowed to publicly get away with such blatant crimes. And yet you think they should by simplifying an entire club to individual rights. Try again. So they being deliberately behind massive narcotic shipments as a club as a whole has absolutely no bearing on the legality of that club? Again, no business or group in the world would be allowed to continue if they were found to be behind such crimes and then continued those crimes after being found out. Try again. Still trying to run with that deliberate ignorance instead of addressing the posts, huh? Pathetic. Nobody is outlawing charity. Demanding that criminal organizations not be legally allowed to run official charity, membership or donation drives in the face of their organizations repeated and deliberate crimes as a whole is not something to be horrified about. Try again. For individual criminal acts. However their criminal organization is an official, registered group that pays taxes, receives members and earns money. Once (*)(*)(*)(*)ing again...no business in the world would be allowed to do such blatant illegal acts over and over again, with direct planning and support from it's leadership, through the actions of the majority of it's employees, without at the very least being shut down or denied any official ability to own a business ever again. You can complain about individual rights all you want. They don't apply for an organization. Next time read my post. Especially since I specified in detail how this applies and would not affect individual people gathering together #even giving examples, which you ignored). Try again.
