Lisa Fernandez
mercurynews.com
Under close watch by beefed-up security a former Hells Angels member was charged Wednesday with killing another biker at the funeral of the president of the San Jose chapter of the outlaw motorcycle club.
Despite the heavy police presence, no bikers showed up for the brief arraignment Wednesday afternoon of Steve Ruiz, who did not enter a plea. Ruiz said little and appeared somber and stone-faced during the hearing. He was represented by John Fuery, an Oakland attorney who said he planned to file a gag order motion and ask that the next court date be continued until March 15.
Ruiz, 38, a former NUMMI worker in Fremont, is accused of killing Steve Tausan on Oct. 15 at Oak Hill Cemetery in San Jose.
Both were attending the funeral of Jeff "Jethro" Pettigrew. who was killed in a Nevada casino in September, allegedly by a Ernesto Gonzalez, 53, the president of the Nicaragua chapter of the rival Vagos gang who lives in San Francisco.
Pettigrew and Tausan were close friends. No one has yet publicly said why Ruiz would have allegedly killed Tausan. Sources have previously said a fist fight erupted between Tausan and Ruiz at the funeral, where Ruiz allegedly drew a handgun, shot Tausan and fled.
San Jose police had been looking for Ruiz since the funeral, which was attended by about 3,000 Hells Angels supporters and was being watched closely by police. Ruiz evaded capture until Saturday about 7:30 p.m. at the Days Inn Motel on Warm Springs Boulevard in Fremont.
Outside court, Fuery acknowledged that while Ruiz used to be a Hells Angels member, when something as "drastic" as a homicide charge is filed, that person then becomes "excommunicated and shunned."
Still, he said his client was not especially concerned about his safety at the Santa Clara County Jail.
Fuery described his client as a "calm, stoic and reasonable man."
Contact Lisa Fernandez at 408-920-5002. Follow her at Twitter.com/ljfernandez.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/114963997/Ruiz-statement
