The Week of Sept. 25, 2011

 Jeffery “Jethro” Pettigrew was shot and killed at the annual Street Vibrations motorcycle festival in Sparks, Nev. after a shootout with a rival motorcycle gang. Jeffery was the head of the San Jose Hell’s Angels chapter. The shoot out occurred after a drive by shooting that occurred hours before at the hotel/ casino. Two members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club also were wounded in the shooting. Leonard Ramirez,  who was shot in the abdomen, and Diego Garcia, who was shot in the leg belonged to the Vagos club.

The festival was expecting 30,000 visitors, with live music and other festivals which were cancelled by the mayor Geno Martini, who called the city under a formal state of emergency. He canceled the festival all together because after the first shooting things continued to spiral out of control. Martini wanted the residents to feel safe. The Casino was put on lock down until further notice and the hospital required extra security.

The first man shot in the drive by has yet to be identified for his protection. Many people have been arrested due to the gang fight and surveillance tape that has been brought as evidence in the search for Pettigrew’s murderer. The city has been put on high alert and all motorcycle members were sent out-of-town and asked to leave. There are no leads so far in Pettigrew’s murder case.