Gonzalez was caught a week later, when he told police his arrest came as a relief, because he believed the Hells Angels wanted to kill him. He was convicted of the Nugget murder in 2013, largely on the basis of Rudnick\u2019s testimony, and sentenced to life in prison.<\/p>\n
Rudnick, who was vice president of the Los Angeles chapter, said that Pettigrew had been murdered by Gonzalez on the orders of the Vagos international president over a turf war in San Jose. But Gonzalez is now scheduled to be retried, after the Nevada Supreme Court threw out his conviction based on improper jury instructions in the original trial. And now Rudnick says he made the whole story up.<\/p>\n
According to new court filings seen by the AP, Rudnick says there was actually no such assassination plot. Rather, Rudnick insisted he lied in order to obtain a plea deal that would give him a reduced sentence and a place on the federal witness protection program. He was accused of starting the fight in the casino that led to the killing, and served two years for conspiracy to commit murder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe states that he lied and there was never any conspiracy or meeting to \u2018green light\u2019 a hit,\u201d Gonzalez’s lawyer, David Houston, told the AP\u00a0. \u201cHe says he was told he\u2019d get probation if he testified the way the state wanted him to.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Gonzalez has always insisted there was no pre-planned murder conspiracy, claiming he shot Pettigrew because the San Jose chapter leader, along with another Hells Angel, was kicking Rudnick so hard Gonzalez thought they would kill him.<\/p>\n
The prosecution, meanwhile, believes that Rudnick\u2019s recantation is itself a lie, and should be treated with skepticism. But historically, such change of testimony can make it more difficult to secure a second conviction.<\/p>\n
Gonzalez\u2019 retrial is slated for August. There is no official word on whether Ruddnick could be brought up on perjury charges now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The prosecution\u2019s star witness in the murder of a Hells Angels boss at the Nugget Casino in Sparks, Nevada now claims his testimony was a fabrication, the Associated Press reported this week. Gary \u201cJabbers\u201d Rudnick\u2019s account of the events of September 23, 2011, when a mass brawl broke out on the casino floor between rival […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":49260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,60,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Nevada Sparks Casino Hells Angel Slaying Star Witness Recants Testimony<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n