Jeffrey Pettigrew Hells Angels Shooting Prompts Sparks, Nev. State of Emergency
Jeffrey Jethro Pettigrew of Hells Angels was shot and killed Friday during a casino fight and now the mayor of Sparks, Nevada -- where the killing took place -- is under a state of emergency, authorities said.
The mayor of Sparks, Nev., where Pettigrew, the 54-year-old California Hells Angel leader, was shot and killed at John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort, said in a statement Saturday he had declared a state of emergency and canceled an annual motorcyle event attended by Hells Angels and rival motorcycle gangs.
The safety and security of the public is our No. 1 priority, the mayor said in a statement.
Two members of a rival gang to Hells Angels were injuring in the casino shooting, authorities said. But the members of the Vagos motorcyle club sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The fight broke out at the casino in sparks just before 11:30 p.m. on Friday. It involved members of Hells Angels and the Vagos motorcycle clubs, there for the annual event. Shots were fired near Trader Dick's bar inside the casino, police said. No other guests or casino employees were injured, according to police reports.
But Jeffrey Jethro Pettigrew, president of the San Jose chapter of Hell's Angels, died from a gunshot wound sustained in the casino fight.
Hells Angels member Cesar Villagrana, 36, was arrested by police and charged with assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a stolen firearm. But according to ABC, police don't think he fired the shot that killed Pettigrew.
Villagrana was seen on videotape shooting into the crowd during the incident, authorities said in a statement. However, it cannot be confirmed at this time if any of the projectiles struck the victims identified.
No suspects have been arrested in the shooting of Pettigrew as on Sunday. Also, authorities haven't made arrests in connection with the two Vagos gang members shot.
According to the Los Angeles Times, The Hells Angels and their arch-rivals, the Vagos, have their roots in California's 1960s counterculture movement. Law enforcement officials say both biker gangs are criminal enterprises dealing in drugs and weapons, and they have clashed repeatedly over the years.
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