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    Biker gang fugitive arrested for funeral slaying

    By Eric Johnson | Reuters – Sun, Feb 26, 2012

    (Reuters) - A Hells Angels member missing since October has been arrested on suspicion of gunning down a fellow member of the notorious biker gang at their local chapter president's funeral, police said.

    Police tracked Steve Ruiz, 38, to a Days Inn Motel in Fremont, south of San Francisco, where he surrendered and was arrested on Saturday "for his murder warrant," San Jose Police Department spokesman Jason Dwyer said in a statement. Ruiz was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail.

    According to police, Ruiz gunned down fellow gang member Steve Tausan, 52, on October 15, 2011, at the funeral of local Hells Angels president Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, who was slain during a brawl with a rival gang at a Nevada casino in September 2011.

    Police said Tausan, who was Pettigrew's close friend, and others confronted Ruiz at the funeral over his perceived failure to have protected Pettigrew during the casino melee, prompting Ruiz to pull a gun on Tausan.

    "The victim and suspect ... reportedly became involved in a physical altercation," Dwyer said. "During the fight, the suspect apparently drew a firearm and fatally shot the victim."

    The Ruiz arrest marks the latest development in a saga of violence between two rival biker groups -- the Hells Angels and Vagos -- which has led to multiple deaths and injuries.

    The U.S. Justice Department has named both groups as outlaw gangs engaged in drug and weapons trafficking and other violent crimes.

    Police have said they trace the rivalry to a push by Vagos into the northern coastal town of Santa Cruz, long claimed as Hells Angels territory.

    Tensions flared when members of the rival gangs fought outside a Santa Cruz Starbucks in January 2010. Seven months later, in August 2010, the two groups exchanged gunfire, leaving five people wounded in Chino Valley, a northern Arizona town.

    The Pettigrew killing -- coming 11 months after the Chino Valley fight -- in turn sparked tensions within the Hells Angels' ranks that led to yet another slaying in California, police said.

    Vagos was founded in the 1960s in a Southern California desert community. The Hells Angels, which has over 230 chapters with an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 members worldwide, was founded in 1948 in Fontana, California.

    (Reporting By Eric Johnson; editing by Dan Burns)

     
    • Mike Y
      Mike Y  •  Parlin, New Jersey  •  2 mths ago
      Its nice to finally read a news story were a USA hells angels did not rape a kid or get caught with child porn or threaten a women for rent money. This was a enjoyable story with a happy ending.
    • Mike Y
      Mike Y  •  Parlin, New Jersey  •  2 mths ago
      Most of the victims of the USA hells angels have historically been women and children.

      USA hells angels are to out of shape to attact men unless the hells angels use large flocks against a few men .
    • Duke
      Duke  •  San Diego, California  •  2 mths ago
      Sometimes it's best to be a Lone Wolf. No nonsense, just enjoy the ride.
      • W4bark
        W4bark 2 mths ago
        Live to ride..Ride to breakfast.
      • Romeo 60
        Romeo 60 2 mths ago
        I prefer "Free rider". No club, No rules!
      • Stink*Foot
        Stink*Foot 2 mths ago
        Wow 1 person disagrees?
        Maybe they need training wheels and someone to hold their hand..........
    • Dave
      Dave  •  Phoenix, Arizona  •  2 mths ago
      Times have changed when you see a Hell's angel checking his email on his iphone while drinking a Caffè Misto at starbucks
      • Rachel
        Rachel 2 mths ago
        HAHAHAHAHA...no doubt!
      • A
        A 2 mths ago
        Then he's probably checking his supplier.
      • Russell
        Russell 2 mths ago
        Thats so true.
    • JRobert
      JRobert  •  St Augustine, Florida  •  2 mths ago
      "Tensions flared when members of the rival gangs fought outside a Santa Cruz Starbucks in January 2010."

      I've heard of biker bars. But biker coffee bars? My how times have changed.
      • James
        James 2 mths ago
        Should have ordered the Venti SKINNY Caramel Macchiato.. less sugar spike. :D
      • Up the Irons
        Up the Irons 2 mths ago
        Somebody took the last pumpkin spice.
      • Peter
        Peter 2 mths ago
        LOL!
    • Piggy
      Piggy  •  2 mths ago
      well at least they're just shooting each other this time round
      • PatrickM
        PatrickM 2 mths ago
        The gang should be treated as terroist and disbanded. They support them selves from illigal activities.
      • Robert
        Robert 2 mths ago
        Prime candidates for a tour or two in Afganistan. They like to fight. Cleanse the gene pool and bring some soldiers home.
      • Jimmy
        Jimmy 2 mths ago
        They were probably Muslims.
    • LanEvo7685
      LanEvo7685  •  Chicago, Illinois  •  2 mths ago
      They should send Chris Chase to cover the bike gang stories
      • Kryptik
        Kryptik 2 mths ago
        If you want a fashion report, Chris is your man.
      • Luke
        Luke 2 mths ago
        I didn't get the "dis Chris Chase" thing at first, but I have to admit it's getting kind of funny to read. Props, Lan for working one in on a non-sports thread.
      • HOWPATHETIC
        HOWPATHETIC 2 mths ago
        this isn't fluffy enough for Chris.
    • Norton
      Norton  •  2 mths ago
      Well the way this reads I suppose the US government is also an outlaw gang because it's engaged in drug and weapons trafficking and other violent crimes.
    • Joe
      Joe  •  2 mths ago
      They call each other "Brothers" until they disagree.
    • Christopher A
      Christopher A  •  Waterbury, Connecticut  •  2 mths ago
      Reason # 96 why I'm not in a gang
    • A person
      A person  •  2 mths ago
      I remember when all this started flaring up about the time of that funeral. The news article said that San Jose police and Santa Clara county sherriff's deputies were guarding the office of the local Hell's Angels. When the hell did our tax dollars start being spent so that law enforcement agencies could serve as body guards for gangsters. We have really gone off the deep end in this country.
    • W4bark
      W4bark  •  Wallingford, Connecticut  •  2 mths ago
      Living in a world of their own.
    • shell
      shell  •  Galveston, Texas  •  2 mths ago
      If the goverment wanted to really shut these guys down between drug charges, gun and weapons charges even faulty equipment, I don't think it would be that hard to do. So it leads me believe that they must not want to shut them down very bad.
    • john
      john  •  Santa Clara, California  •  2 mths ago
      Let us all mourn Margo Compton, and her daughters Sylvia and Sandra, who never got to see their seventh birthday thanks to this gang.
    • Scott R
      Scott R  •  Nashville, Tennessee  •  2 mths ago
      Wow, killing your own guys, that's hardcore messed up...
    • Bernie
      Bernie  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  2 mths ago
      from 1972 till 1994 i rode a bike (harley) i didnt even own a car.i had the pleasure to party with several clubs all over the country.not all bikers are affiliated with a club or gang.i rode alone for the most part because i didnt want to have to follow rules,blindly.some of the club/gang members are alright people and some are not.but i rode for the freedom of the road and the solitude. not to deal with the attitude.dont hold nothing aganist the clubs/gangs,nor the police.i would still ride if i could but old age and infermity deprive me of that pleasure.....but NEVER with a club/gang.....i believe in standing alone.i have never needed someone to "have my back"......
    • slayer21
      slayer21  •  Minneapolis, Minnesota  •  2 mths ago
      The Hells Angels, which has over 230 chapters with an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 members worldwide, was founded in 1948 in Fontana, California

      I'm pretty sure there is more that 2,500 Hells Angels world wide...come on yahoo !
    • Helen
      Helen  •  Spartanburg, South Carolina  •  2 mths ago
      The VATOS are nothing more than mexican gangbangers on harleys..I say let them kill each other and be done with them all...,
    • joed
      joed  •  Richardson, Texas  •  2 mths ago
      I am proud to call myself a biker. I wear the garb ,I ride the Harley, and I like to party. The things I don't do is break the law or anything that brings harm to anyone. Outlaw bikers only make up a very small percentage (ever heard of the 1% percenters?) of the biking world. The bikers I run with are mostly Veterans, and the most patriotic people you would ever meet. Would you want to walk into the middle of us and be disrespectful? Probably not a good idea, but none of us would ever do that to you either. Just like any other groups there is always some who try to give everyone else a bad name .
    • Mark
      Mark  •  Fairfield, California  •  2 mths ago
      The last time I was in a gang, I was 9 years old :D , doesn't a normal man grow out of this phase after like 15 years old? :D
     Post a comment
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