RENO, Nev. – The gunman convicted of assassinating a Hells Angel leader in a 2011 shootout between rival gangs at a Nevada casino has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility for parole until he's 83 years old.
Ernesto Gonzalez, ex-president of the Vagos chapter in Nicaragua, was convicted in August of killing Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, who was known as the "godfather" of the Hells Angels in San Jose, Calif.
Washoe District Judge Connie Steinheimer sentenced the 55-year-old San Francisco man Thursday to life with the possibility of parole after 20 years on five felony counts including first-degree murder. But she added a gang enhancement to the penalty so if he is paroled, he'll have to serve a minimum of eight years before he could be freed.
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