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Subscribe to RSSSAN FRANCISCO -- A Hells Angels member missing since October has been arrested on suspicion of gunning down a fellow member of the biker gang at a funeral for the local chapter's president, police said.
Steve Ruiz surrendered Saturday night after San Jose police surrounded his motel in Fremont, according to police Sgt. Jason Dwyer.
Ruiz, 38, had been the subject of a widespread manhunt since Steve Tausan was shot and killed during memorial services for Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew on Oct. 15. Police believe that Ruiz shot Tausan when a fight broke out at the San Jose funeral, which was monitored by police.
Dwyer would not say what led officers to the Days Inn motel in Fremont or if any weapons were recovered, but added that Ruiz was considered "armed and dangerous."
A front desk clerk at the motel, Rey Bayangos, said Ruiz had checked in just two hours before police arrived.
"They used the phone at the front desk, called and asked him to surrender peacefully, and he did surrender," Bayangos said. "It happened all of a sudden."
Casino brawl
Tausan, 52, was one of 4,000 people attending services for Pettigrew, the president of the Hells Angels' San Jose chapter. Pettigrew was slain during a brawl with a rival biker gang in a Nevada casino on Sept. 23.
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.
A week after Tausan was killed, police stormed a house in Stockton but came up empty. Investigators also said in December that they had "credible evidence" that Ruiz, a former San Jose resident, had been seen in the city.
Ruiz was booked into Santa Clara County Jail. Dwyer did not have bail information or know if he had been assigned a court date.
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.
Rivalry
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.
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The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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all gangs kill their own.sat headlines cop shoots self and fellow officer.
Don't even go there. It's obvious you know even less about law enforcement than you do about motorcycle gangs. Go post something on the Oscars. You are probably well versed in movies.
dont go where every week i read about a crooked cop busted for this or that.every gang has its colors yours is blue.you put too much pride in your profession.you are societys janitors you arrive after the fact and clean up the mess.the only difference is you have a gun and you seem to break the law more often.
I'll tell you what, you can put on my "colors" and ride along with me for a month or so. I'm sure you'll get an education in "janitorial services."
no thanks i have seen everything you would show me.it dosnt intimidate or impress.
I would not say something about anyone or any thing that I wouldnt say to them in person.First and formost.Having been i nthe company of these types of gentleman numerous times,and in the company of other popular Italian groups or organizations.You all dont have to worry about them or judge them,if you have no involvment with them,than you have no worries.This is a life style that they choose to live its on there own terms with there own rules,they determine there own destinies and are willing to acept that,though many wouildnt say so they are enchanted and intrigued by the sheer gaul and balls that these people display,no fear.Whether its a hells angel,soprano type or what ever we all at one time wish for the concience that would allow us to take matters into our own hands,regardless of the conciquences,and do so without fear of the system the law or any other faction.Do some reasearch on these entities b-4 you open your mouths.They say the u.s it self was stared with good reason and intentions and look what truly happened,look what it has become,look at those who say the live the right true and fair way for all and those who do this all in the name of god or jesus?The gencide against the natives,slavery lying cheating,invadeing,killing of all other people not to include the killing of our own belongs to our government and for the most part all other government religious organizations and groups,not excluding law enforcment.So whats the diffrence?because they are not in the right group that can get away with it?rip angel FTW...live free and die
Aren't you a little too old to be in your 40's, 50's, and 60's and still be an immature piece of sh*t to society? Please folks when you them riding there motorcycles in our countries highways just run there asses over and lets get rid of these roaches.
Wild Hogs! Be very scared!
Well, the problem as I see it is that they are riding Harley Davidsons in the first place. They are waaaaay overpriced and way over rated. They should be riding BMW's, after all they are always wearing the nazi style helmets and showing of their SS patches aren't they. Besides, Beemers will at least keep their value a lot longer than a Harley, and will also still be running after a few months!!!!
20arrested&source=web&cd=9&ved=0CGsQFjAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.koat.com%2Fnews%2F30517385%2Fdetail.html&ei=TONLT-SiDOfOiAKShLmEDA&usg=AFQjCNFeXEjZmk3LiaPptM423mgw6pey_A
this is just a few the list could go on and on.
I make no false pretences. I find the shear number of criminal gang members to be frightening. Biker gangs, street gangs, drug cartel, organised crime etc. The list is almost endless. Even when police make a big arrest, there are plenty more to fill the void. What is happening to our society?
Might not be the answer you want to hear but statistics show that when the Supreme Court ruled to get God out of our schools and government, FBI statistics show that crime, teen-age pregnancy, drug-alcohol abuse, gambling loses, prostitution and so on skyrocketed!
you could not be more wrong OR ignorant there Skeeter. Reminds me of a song when I was 5...."there's a skeeter on my peter knock him off, there's a skeeter on my peter knock him off, there's another on my brother........?
When did that Supreme Court ruling take place? Was it in the sixties?
I've seen the HA's in San bernardino, Temecula and Yucaipa ca.
They do not need a piece of you nor do they try.
Keep away and you will not get any issues.
Why not give Afghanistan to the FeatherHeads??????? They could have there own country, run it themselves and kill all kinds of others and themselves if they want...I'm just saying...oh, and then Iran is just right next door...
gang members who avoid prison are eventually killed by other gang members (self-cleaning oven concept)
Jethro made it into his 50s, which is old for gangbangers
"die young and leave an ugly tattooed corpse with rotten teeth"
m/c=motorcycle club...I love all the yups and their oh the "gangs" are going to get us...put down ure cell phones and stickupyerbutt-lattes and watch out for us real folks who ride:)
Sounds like some fun guys..
I think that the rise of criminal gangs began in the sixties along with drug abuse and drug trade. If people would not buy and use drugs. The criminal gangs would fold up. Every time someone buys an illegal drug, they are supporting a criminal gang somewhere.
The need for speed is what is happening to our society. Methamphetamine makes people crazy. Just say, "No".
200 bikers, screwed up Hollister Ralley for the rest of the 1000,000 other bikers to enjoy bikes, events, and just being their, lets see how many other bike events they will cancel if this keeps up!!!!!!!
All of these shootings will undoubtedly see the liberal media go into an anti-gun frenzy. Before they do that (have they already started?) I just wish they would compare the deaths from traffic accidents where alcohol was involved to the deaths by unjustified gun (yes, some gun deaths are justified). The numbers may surprise you. More than 1,600,000 people have been killed since 1948 (63 years) in alcohol related traffic accidents. This far exceeds the number killed by gun in an unjustified manner (police shootings are generally justified, home-owners protecting family are generally justified, self-defense on the streets by authorized concealed carry individuals, intervention by a citizen when they spot a dangerous felony in process, etc. are also justified).
I feel really bad when an unjustified shooting occurs and being a pastor, I always pray for the victim's family (even HA's have families). These types of tragedies should not be bally-hooed into an all-out ban on gun ownership. For the time being, just focus on the families of the victims in this case and today's case involving the school shooting in Ohio.
Absolutely Hilarious. It started at a Starbucks... and ended at a Days Inn. The only thing missing was Pabst Blue Ribbon and Dog the Bounty Hunter.
George Broadhead,Andy,Waynebo and thankfully a whole bunch more for representing and speaking the TRUTH as WE LIVE it! And as WE die for it. The "normies" being what they are will remain forever CLUELESS because they CHOOSE to remain the ignorant, honor less, deceitful and cowardly dogs,that they were undoubtedly sired by. I am a born to the Brotherhood therefore blood relation. (my father was patched in shortly before my birth) And raised by almost every member in my dads chapter. Countless "Uncles" and "Aunties" (their old laides) that taught me how to be righteous, true to myself and walk upright. Struggling with all the "stigma"( as a young girl I actually thought that there was something "wrong" with me and my "family") that the "moral majority" ceaselessly and ruthlessly applies to "bikers"; I tried to reject all that I was and had grown up with --to join their world in search of the joy and happiness they had promised if I did.In other words: "I bought the LIE." Therein ensued what has to be the most incredibly horrific 15yrs of my life ( I am now 56). I had no skills at dealing with such faultiness and quickly started to slide into the filth of that world. When you are the ONLY person who KNOWS what is meant by "talking the talk and HAVING to walk the walk to do so --- believe me you are operating at a severe disadvantage-- my friend. But thankfully I regained my sanity and renounced the LIE to comeback into the fold. Long story short here -- what I wish to say is: "My brethren (you know who you are) DO NOT forgive them because they KNOW what they do! Give them NO mercy as you will surely receive NONE! Give back tenfold of that which you receive and if they manage to cage you Brothers then ... Bust Loose and Ride Free Forever!!! Ahmen!!
Yes indeed. The remoteness and impersonality of the internet seems to have given all these gutless wonders a false sense of security. I think you mistake those empty flapping sacks of skin between your legs for BALLS and that little wiggly worm in front for a real DICK!
most of these postings are so stupid! 99% of you have kool-ade stains on your lips! people gobble up whatever is fed to them from government & media. your lazy brains have given away the america that was fought so hard for only a few generations ago.
if the hells angels are such a prolific criminal enterprise why are they not all rich? why do more police get charged with felony crimes in this country than all motorcycle clubs put together? because sometimes people who are connected by a membership in a "brotherhood" commit crimes. even more catholic priests have commited crimes than hells angels, but you dont want to lock them all in a building and burn it...like some nimrod posted.
it is a club, not a gang. gangs have no problem proclaiming themselves as such. the police want to call them a "gang" because then their million dollar budgets for"fighting crime" won't go away. and you might realize that you really are not threatened in your day to day life by someone in a motorcycle club...yet you are by the new age paramilitary police roaming our cities.
Q: What's the difference between a Harley and a vacuum cleaner?
A: You can only fit one dirt bag on a vacuum cleaner.
Thank you! Thank you! I'll be playing here all weekend.
there are too many people at the bar ....
discipline not thy children