OFF THE WIRE
Jeffrey “Jethro” Pettigrew, 51, was the president of the San Jose chapter of the Hell’s Angels, but Friday night in Sparks his life was cut short after a fight broke out at John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nevada.
The police are currently reviewing CCTV footage from the casino in order to get a clearer picture of the fatal incident, which at the same time also resulted in the shooting of two members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club, and possibly another in a fly-by shooting 12 hours later.
So far, the CCTV reveals there were around a dozen Hells Angels and 60 Vagos members gambling inside the casino when the fight broke out. Pettigrew was then seen punching and then pistol-whipping several rival Vagos gang members before gunshots began being exchanged.
In the aftermath of the fight, Pettigrew was shot and stabbed in the torso several times before later succumbing to his wounds later in the hospital.
The incident took place on the sidelines of the Street Vibrations Motorcycle Festival, and despite the Hells Angels and Vagos motorbike gangs having had run-ins in the past, it is currently being seen as a spontaneous act, with with Washoe County Assistant Sheriff Marshall Emerson stating:
“In this particular case there was no credible information to indicate the event that had occurred was about to occur. If there was we would have taken immediate action to prevent that.”
Despite this year’s event subsequently being cancelled, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini called the violence an “isolated incident” and said the Street Vibrations would continue in Sparks, but “if it happens again next year, then it’s something we’ll take a harder look at.”
In the meantime, Jeffrey “Jethro” Pettigrew is being mourned by friends and supporters with an obituary for the San Jose Hell’s Angels president describing him as “the charismatic local leader of the notorious biker club.”
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