Hells Angel with pending Santa Cruz, Nevada charges posts bail

OFF THE WIRE

SANTA CRUZ - A man arrested this spring in Aptos, and last month during a high-profile shoot-out in a Nevada casino, posted bail in both cases and was released from custody Tuesday in Sparks, Nev., his local attorney said.
Cesar Villagrana, 36, is due back in Santa Cruz County Superior Court Oct. 21, defense attorney Michael E. Hingle said.
"They wouldn't release him without him posting (the Santa Cruz) bond," said Hingle, of San Jose.
Judge Ariadne Symons had ordered a $100,000 warrant for the Gilroy man Thursday, when his incarceration in Nevada caused him to miss a Santa Cruz court date, Santa Cruz prosecutor Alex Byers said.
Villagrana's local troubles arose after a March 17 accident near Soquel and State Park drives, when he crashed after striking two cars while riding his Harley Davidson, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The impact caused a loaded Beretta handgun he had been carrying to be flung onto the street, Byers said, adding that Villagrana faces a maximum three-year sentence if convicted of carrying a loaded gun not registered to him.
Hingle said his client is eligible for probation, and he added that a separate concealed-gun charge, and a gang charge, were dropped after a preliminary hearing heard by Judge Jeff Almquist in July.
A charge that the weapon had been concealed was tough to prove given the chaos of a crash, Byers said.
Villagrana, a tall man with a ready smile who appears to have recovered from injuries suffered during the Aptos crash, has appeared in Santa Cruz Superior Court several times this year.
But Sparks police say video surveillance show him pulling out a gun from his waistband and firing into the crowd during the Sept. 23 casino shoot-out, after the leader of the San Jose Hells Angels chapter, 51-year-old Jeffrey Pettigrew, was gunned down. Homicide suspect Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, 53, of San Jose, an alleged member of the rival Vagos motorcycle gang, was arrested Sept. 28 in San Francisco.
Hinkle acknowledges that Villagrana is a member of the San Jose chapter of the motorcycle group.
Not surprisingly, Hinkle said he uses the word 'club' to describe it, saying that California prosecutors have never proved it is a criminal gang, while Byers sees it differently.
"Ask any cop anywhere and they will tell you those guys are a criminal street gang," he said.
Villagrana's Las Vegas-based attorney, David Chesnoff, said Tuesday Villagrana's bail was lowered from a requirement of $500,000 cash to an allowance for him to post bond on $150,000 bail. He said Villagrana worked in air conditioning.
"We were able to negotiate a reduction directly with the DA's Office," Chesnoff said. "We're happy about that."
He said his client is "down to three charges," including assault with a deadly weapon, illegal discharge of a weapon and a third he couldn't remember off the top of his head. The Washoe County District Attorney's Office could not be reached to comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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