Reno judge: Don’t call Hells Angels, Vagos outlaw gangs

RENO — Citing the potential of tainting the jury, a state court judge told prosecutors Tuesday not to refer to the Hells Angels or Vagos as motorcycle gangs during an upcoming trial for suspects in a shootout at a Northern Nevada casino.

Washoe County District Judge Connie Steinheimer said referring to the rival entities as outlaw gangs could deny defendants a fair trial. But she also warned defense lawyers not to emphasize that Hells Angels are formally incorporated in the U.S. as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.

“From now on, no gangs, no clubs,” the judge ruled during a hearing on a series of pretrial motions for the trial scheduled to begin July 22.

“Use proper names. Refer to the Hells Angels as the Hells Angels and the Vagos as the Vagos,” she said.

Ernesto Gonzalez, 53, president of the Vagos chapter in Nicaragua, has pleaded not guilty to open murder in the September 2011 death of Jeffrey Pettigrew, president of the Hells Angels chapter in San Jose, Calif.

Cesar Villagrana, a member of the Hells Angels, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. His lawyer said he was only defending himself and Pettigrew when gunfire erupted and turned the casino floor of John Ascuaga’s Nugget into a shooting gallery during a weekend biker festival in Reno and Sparks. He’s accused of shooting a Vagos member in the leg.

Richard Schonfeld, a lawyer for Villagrana, said witnesses and prosecutors referenced the Hells Angels motorcycle gang “probably 50 times in two hours” of testimony on Monday.

“You can’t continuously refer to the ‘Hells Angels gang, Hells Angels gang, Hells Angels gang’ during the whole trial, and then say to the jury it now is your duty to decide whether the Hells Angels is a motorcycle gang,” he said Tuesday. “It is inherently prejudicial.”

“Our position is they are the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. It’s not arguing the case. That is their name,” he said.

But Steinheimer said that in the same way that “gang” carries a negative connotation, labeling an organization as a “club” can have a positive connotation and could be used in arguments to skew the jury’s viewpoint as well. She said she would allow the lawyers to use the phrases during closing arguments, and for expert witnesses to offer their opinions as to whether a particular group operated as a gang.

Assistant District Attorney Karl Hall said he was confident the judge could differentiate when the phrases were being abused during the trial. He said the gang element is necessary to prove additional penalties are warranted as part of a criminal “gang enhancement” under Nevada law, and that ignoring that would preclude the reading of the indictment at trial.

“We have charged murder and there are victims and we have charged gang enhancement,” he argued.