A Gilroy man and Hells Angel rider remains in a Nevada jail with
felony charges and a $500,000, cash-only bail following the deadly
melee inside John Ascuaga’s Nugget, a hotel and casino, during a
motorcycle festival in Sparks, Nev. that left the leader of the
Hells Angels San Jose chapter dead.
A Gilroy man and Hells Angel rider remains in a Nevada jail with felony charges and a $500,000, cash-only bail following the deadly melee inside John Ascuaga’s Nugget, a hotel and casino, during a motorcycle festival in Sparks, Nev. that left the leader of the Hells Angels San Jose chapter dead.
Police booked Cesar Villagrana, 36, at 7:49 a.m. Saturday into the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office on three felony counts including assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a stolen firearm – a 9mm Smith & Wesson semi-automatic handgun, according to WCS Deputy Armando Avina.
Villagrana’s offenses also include carrying a concealed weapon and aiming a firearm at another person, two charges Avina said are gross misdemeanors. An officer in the Sparks Police Department Booking Division confirmed Villagrana has not made bail.
Police say Villagrana, who lives at 6970 Rosanna St. in Gilroy, was videotaped shooting into the crowd during the disruption between rival motorcycle gangs the Hells Angels and the Vagos on Friday. Footage, however, has not been released and officials have not verified if any of his rounds hit the three victims. On Thursday, Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, 53, of San Jose and a Vagos member, was named in a police affidavit as the suspect implicated in the death of Jeffrey “Jethro” Pettigrew, 51, according to the Associated Press.
Villagrana did not enter a plea at his arraignment Thursday morning at the Sparks Justice Court. According to the Associated Press, Judge Susan Deriso set a hearing for Oct. 5 to allow Villagrana’s attorneys to argue for a reduction of the $500,000 cash-only bail. A preliminary hearing has been set for Oct. 12.
According to a Sparks Police Department press release, all hell broke loose around 11:26 p.m. Friday inside John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks, a hotel and casino serving as one of several venues for the 18th annual Street Vibrations Motorcycle rally, “a celebration of music metal and motorcycles” according to the group’s website.
The SPD was notified of a large group fight between rival motorcycle gangs Vagos and Hells Angels – of at least 60 people, according to other media reports – involving men with firearms, and shortly after reported the firing of rounds that resulted in three individuals with gunshot wounds. Two victims are still at medical facilities with non-life threatening injuries. Pettigrew allegedly was shot in the back four times inside the Nevada casino by Gonzalez, the AP reported Thursday.
The incident in Nevada isn’t Villagrana’s first run-in with the law. Following a March 17 collision in Aptos – for which Villagrana was found to be at fault – he made Santa Cruz headlines when the California Highway Patrol discovered the Gilroy Hells Angel was carrying an unregistered Beretta handgun, according to AP reports.
The discovery of the weapon came after Villagrana collided his 2002 Harley Davidson with a Honda and Toyota on Soquel Drive near State Park Drive in Aptos, according to CHP Spokeswoman Sarah Jackson.
In April, Villagrana was arrested by Gilroy police for possession of an unregistered handgun in his vehicle and participating in a criminal street gang.
Associated Press reports state Villagrana was out of custody, and pleaded not guilty in May to charges of carrying a loaded gun not registered to him and being an active Hells Angels gang member.
Villagrana’s lawyer, however, Michael Hingle of San Jose, declined to verify the accuracy of the AP statement.
According to the most recent statement from SPD, the “Sparks Police Department personnel are continuing to conduct follow-up interviews with responding officers from local law enforcement agencies and additional witnesses from inside of John Ascuaga’s Nugget.”
The SPD said video footage from the Nugget will not be released at this time, as “personnel are still viewing additional camera angles to identify persons of interest and/or witnesses.”
As for local law enforcement’s reaction to the incident, Sgt. Jose Cardoza with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said their agency has no credible intelligence related to possible acts of retaliation incited by Pettigrew’s death.
“We are increasing the level of awareness in all our patrol deputies by just informing them about what happened over in Nevada with the San Jose chapter leader being killed,” Cardoza added. “If anything, we are increasing the patrol division’s awareness and making them aware of what’s going on.”
