{"id":112044,"date":"2019-08-13T08:36:14","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T15:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=112044"},"modified":"2019-08-13T13:25:33","modified_gmt":"2019-08-13T20:25:33","slug":"vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Vagos Gang Members Linked to 2011 Sparks Nugget Casino Shooting Now On Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

The trial for eight Vagos gang members accused of federal racketeering in connection with a lethal 2011 brawl with the Hells Angels at a Sparks, Nevada casino got underway Monday in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\"Vago\"
Grainy surveillance footage from the Nugget gaming floor shows the events unfolding on the night of September 23, 2011. (Image: RGJ File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The shootout at the casino left one prominent Hells Angels member dead and raised questions on whether the gun battle was premeditated by the Vagos gang.<\/p>\n

Among the accused Vagos members is Ernesto Gonzalez, who in 2013 was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Hells Angel boss Jeffrey Pettigrew on the gaming floor of the Nugget Casino & Resort<\/a> in Sparks, northwest Nevada.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez caught a break on that sentence in 2015, when the Nevada Supreme Court overturned his conviction on the grounds that instructions to the jury had been improper. He was awaiting retrial when he was indicted by the feds with his fellow gang members on racketeering charges, and the state dropped its murder case.<\/p>\n

Orchestrated Hit?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Prosecutors on Monday remained very much focused on the events of September 23, 2011 at the Nugget. They hoped to establish that the incident was more than just a biker gang riot, but an orchestrated hit, carried out by a criminal syndicate on a rival boss \u2013 a syndicate responsible for murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, and witness intimidation.<\/p>\n

\n

Gonzalez has always insisted he shot Pettigrew, known as the \u201cgodfather of Hells Angels in San Jose, California,” because he thought Pettigrew was going to kill his friend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Surveillance footage from the incident initially showed Pettigrew talking, apparently amiably, with Vagos members at the bar. But suddenly, something made him throw a punch before pulling a handgun and pistol whipping a Vagos member with it.<\/p>\n

At the same time, another Hells Angel also draws a handgun and shots ring out. Two Vagos members are wounded by bullets.<\/p>\n

Pettigrew and another Hells Angel were stomping on a Vagos member with guns drawn at the time Gonzalez shot Pettigrew dead.<\/p>\n

\u2018Active Shooter\u2019 Situation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Prosecutor John Han told the court that Pettigrew\u2019s death had been ordered by Vagos international president Pastor Palafox following a series of violent confrontations between the two gangs in San Jose. Han said the group of Vagos members had formed a \u201cgauntlet\u201d to kill Pettigrew and had attacked when the opportunity presented itself.<\/p>\n

But defense attorneys poured scorn on the claim. Michael Kennedy, representing Gonzalez, repeatedly described the incident as an \u201cactive shooter\u201d situation.<\/p>\n

Shooting to stop two active shooters is not murder,” he told the jury, as reported by The Lompoc Record.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another defense attorney, Mark Fleming, described the incident as \u201cthe justifiable defense of others,” and added that being a Vagos member was \u201cnot a criminal act.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defense also cautioned the jury to be wary of the testimony of Gary “Jabbers” Rudnick<\/a>, a former Vagos chapter vice president turned federal informer. In the surveillance video, it is Rudnick who appears to initiate the fight with Pettigrew, and it was Rudnick\u2019s testimony on which Gonzalez was largely convicted in the original state trial.<\/p>\n

In 2017, Rudnick recanted his testimony that there had been a pre-planned conspiracy to kill Pettigrew. Now, he\u2019s changed his mind again.<\/p>\n

In a final twist, it was Rudnick\u2019s life Gonzalez claims he was trying to save when he shot Pettigrew.<\/p>\n

The trial is expected to last at least to November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The trial for eight Vagos gang members accused of federal racketeering in connection with a lethal 2011 brawl with the Hells Angels at a Sparks, Nevada casino got underway Monday in Las Vegas. The shootout at the casino left one prominent Hells Angels member dead and raised questions on whether the gun battle was premeditated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":112045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVagos Members Linked to Sparks Nugget Casino Shooting Start Trial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Federal trial begins in Las Vegas of Ernesto Gonzalez and other Vagos members who prosecutors believe conspired to murder Hells Angel Jeffrey Pettigrew.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vagos Members Linked to Sparks Nugget Casino Shooting Start Trial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Federal trial begins in Las Vegas of Ernesto Gonzalez and other Vagos members who prosecutors believe conspired to murder Hells Angel Jeffrey Pettigrew.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-13T15:36:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-08-13T20:25:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/biker.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1176\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial\/\",\"name\":\"Vagos Members Linked to Sparks Nugget Casino Shooting Start Trial\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/biker.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-13T15:36:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-08-13T20:25:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Federal trial begins in Las Vegas of Ernesto Gonzalez and other Vagos members who prosecutors believe conspired to murder Hells Angel Jeffrey Pettigrew.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vagos-members-linked-to-sparks-nugget-casino-shooting-trial\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/biker.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/biker.jpg\",\"width\":1176,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Grainy surveillance footage from the Nugget gaming floor shows the events of the might of September 23, 2011 unfolding. 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He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. 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