Jury out in case of Hells Angels, Vagos brawl

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Thomas Froberg, right, appears in Superior Court with his attorney Mark... (Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel)


By Stephen Baxter - Santa Cruz Sentinel

SANTA CRUZ - The jury was still out Monday evening in the case of a Live Oak man accused of brawling with members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club on Front Street in January.
Prosecutors say Thomas Froberg, 37, participated in a criminal street gang and fought members of a rival biker gang in a mid-day fight.
Froberg is allegedly a member of the Vagos motorcycle club, and prosecutors said the Vagos are in a turf war with the Hells Angels - which have long claimed Santa Cruz County as their territory.
A jury trial started early last week in Judge Ariadne Symons court, where prosecutors alleged that Froberg instigated a fight with several members of the Hells Angels.
Prosecutor Charlie Baum said Froberg drove a white Chevy Astrovan to Front Street just north of Soquel Avenue about 12:45 p.m. on Jan. 27. Two Hells Angels bikers and Froberg exchanged heated words, and got into a brutal fight on the sidewalk.
It is disputed whether they used weapons like a hammer and tire iron, but the defense showed bloody pictures of Froberg and said he was attacked with a hammer. Several witnesses in the parking lot of the pharmacy and on Front Street saw the fight and testified at the trial last week.
Defense attorney Mark Briscoe said Froberg acted in self defense, and that the witnesses' stories did not match or were not enough to convict Froberg.

Prosecutors disagreed.
"Santa Cruz County is Hells Angels turf and the Vagos want to make it their turf," Baum told the jury in his closing argument. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your turf. Tell them what you think of them brawling on a sunny Wednesday afternoon."
If convicted, it is unclear how long Froberg's sentence could be.
Froberg, dressed in a pinstriped dress shirt, listened intently to the closing arguments on Monday. Elbows on the table, at times he folded his fingers together and pressed them against his lips as he listened.

The jury will continue its deliberations Tuesday.