'We're in a War,' Vagos Gang Member Asserts

OFF THE WIRE
BY: Lynne LaMaster
Source: prescottenews.com
It was obvious that the Vago gang members were on edge. They knew the tension between their gang and the local Hells Angels gane was rising. The fact that Saturday, August 21 was the day they had planned to have a get together in Chino Valley was cause for concern.

According to a report by Detective Dave Zavos, from the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, Aurelio Figueroa, also known by a nickname of "45", and identified as the Vice President of the Vagos Tri-State Chapter, tried to keep fellow gang members from coming to Chino Valley that weekend.

Zavos reports, "Figueroa stated that he contacted fellow gang members and told them not to come to Chino Valley."

But, a group of about five Vagos came anyway. The group that was already in Chino Valley met them in the parking lot of a local store to wait for the Phoenix group's arrival.

Earlier that Saturday morning, there had been a silent confrontation at the Circle K on Highway 89 in Chino Valley between members of the two gangs; nothing happened, but the tension was evident, even in the video tapes reviewed a couple of days later by Zavos.

Zavos continues the report on what happened that afternoon, "Figueroa stated that he told the guys to be careful. He stated that their pack went down Rd. 3 North and got separated in traffic. He stated that he was second in the pack and that he was present when Bob (Blankenship) got shot. He stated that Bob was making a u-turn after having passed by the Hells Angels house. Figueroa stated that Blankenship's duties as a Sgt.at Arms is the protection of the club and that is why Blankenship went forward first to make sure it was safe. Det. Skelton asked Figueroa if he recognized the Hells Angels as a rival motorcycle club and a threat to them? Figueroa stated 'yes'.

" Figueroa stated that as they rode past, the Hells Angels were just standing in the yard with their arms at their sides. Figueroa stated that a fully patched Hells Angels member with blonde hair and wearing a red hat backwards or a bandana began shooting. Figueroa stated that he knew he (male shooting) was a "full patch" because when the shooting started, the male layed down behind a bike and saw the back of the guys cut and there was a death head on it. Figueroa guessed that there were four shooters. He stated that he identified some of them but that was not all of them.

"Figueroa stated that the shooting stopped when they (Vagos) returned fire. He stated that the Hells Angels ran into the house and that two gunman were on the second floor shooting out a window. He stated that he was concerned for the women and children at the house, so he picked up his bike and rode back to the house. He stated that after he told everyone to stay down, he returned to the area by the Chevy pickup and parked behind it to stay out of site [sic] of the window where they were shooting from. He stated that after the shooting stopped, everyone went back to the house."

When Detective Skelton asked him what would happen in the biker world as a result of this incident. Figueroa replied, "We're in a war."

In the meantime, calls were coming in to the Chino Valley dispatch center. Here are the calls as released by the Yavapai County Attorney's Office. (Editor's note: The beginning of each call, which directs the caller to 'Press 1' for this option, or '2' for another option, etc. has been edited out. Please note that the silences are part of the calls, presumably as an effort to protect the names of innocent bystanders.)

...to be continued.

Editor's note: The information released by the County Attorney's office was voluminous, and it will take time to fully understand all that happened that day. There were 15 emergency calls made to Chino Valley Dispatch as can be heard above. Over 400 calls between law enforcement and dispatch were included. Over one hundred pages of supplemental reports were also part of the information provided to the media. We'll do our best to comb through the information and provide a comprehensive series of reports.