Deputies recover bullets from nearby homes in biker shootout

OFF THE WIRE
Documents released by the Yavapai County Attorney's Office on Monday about a shootout between motorcycle gangs near Chino Valley this past month revealed there were children nearby when the shooting began, and that one member told detectives the shooting meant the rival gangs are "in a war."

According to the documents, a Yavapai County Sheriff's deputy when responding to the Aug. 21 shooting between the Hells Angels and Vagos motorcycle gangs in an unincorporated area northwest of Chino Valley heard dispatchers say numerous Vagos members were being held at gunpoint in the front yard.

When the deputy arrived at the Vagos house owned by Michael Diecks, in the 2900 block of Yuma Drive, he helped other deputies secure Vagos gang members, women, and children wearing the Vagos' color green attire.

Another deputy noted that of the 12 Vagos members seated on the side of the road all but two men wore T-shirts, vests or belts identifying them as Vagos motorcycle gang members.

Chino Valley firefighters treated two injured men, identified as Ruben Lopez, Vagos president who also is known as "Kickstand," and Robert Blankenship, their sergeant at arms known as "Brown Bob," in a pickup truck bed in the front yard.

After DPS gang officers cleared the home, women and children who were detained were allowed to go inside and use the restroom. The children ranged in age from 6 months to 17 years old.

Firefighters treated Lopez for a grazing wound on the left side of his abdomen, and he refused further treatment. After firefighters treated Blankenship for a bullet wound to his right knee, they released him to fellow Vagos gang member James Sabon who took him to YRMC for further treatment.

Lopez and Aurelio Figueroa, Vagos' vice president who also is known as ".45," told the deputy they were there when the shooting started and could identify the shooters.

Deputies took Lopez to the Hells Angels house where Teddy Toth lives, in the 2600 block of North Yuma, where Hells Angels gang members were being detained and he identified the shooters as Kiley Hill, Michael Kopecke and John Bernard, who allegedly ordered the shooting, according to YCSO reports.

Lopez told the deputy he believed Larry Scott, Juan Marchelli, and Warren Kuntz also were allegedly shooting, but he did not see them. When Figueroa viewed the men, he told deputies he saw Scott and Bernard shooting, but not the others, investigators said.

As deputies investigated the area, they found a Harley Davidson with Vagos markings on it with a bullet hole in the gas tank and the rear tire, and across the street at a house on Yuma Drive they found shell casings in the yard.

Figueroa told a detective he had told fellow gang members not to come to Chino Valley for a get together, but five of them came anyway. When the group already here went to meet the other group at the highway, a member told Figueroa that seven Hells Angels had driven by the Vagos house.

Figueroa told the detective he saw Blankenship get shot after making a U-turn after passing by the Hells Angels house.

Figueroa said he's never seen anyone at the Hells Angels house except an elderly man on oxygen, so he tells his guys to ride on through.

As the Vagos rode by, Figueroa told the detective, he saw seven Hells Angels in the front yard with their arms at their sides, and a fully patched Hells Angel with blond hair began shooting.

Figueroa told detectives that the shooting stopped when the Vagos returned fire, the Hells Angels ran into the house, and two people on the second floor started shooting out a window.

Figueroa said he was worried about the women and children at the Vagos house so he rode back to the house and told everyone to stay down, then went back.

A witness told deputies she heard shots fired outside the house, yelled for the kids to get on the floor, and called 911 when she heard a second round of shots fired, according to the county attorney's office. After the shooting stopped, the Vagos returned to that house.

Figueroa told the detective that as a result of this incident, "We're in a war."

A deputy who responded to the Hells Angels house found several people out in the front yard wearing Hells Angels attire. On the kitchen table, the deputy found several handguns, knives, and a bindle of what appeared to be methamphetamine, according to the county attorney's office.

After the arrests, YCSO dispatch received numerous reports that as many as 150 more gang members were heading up from Phoenix.