District Attorney Deputy Art Grothe and defense attorney Jai Gohel took Wednesday to convey to the jury not only their perspectives of what the evidence shows, but also their wildly different characterizations of the club. Defense attorneys Michael Clough and Patrick Ciocca will be presenting their closing arguments Friday before Grothe gives his final summary. Deliberation begins next week.
Grothe started the morning on Wednesday by explaining how the defendants’ charges matched their alleged crimes. He also pointed to the pattern of animosity that predated the Konocti Vista Casino fight between club members in June of 2011, both in general and specifically between the Vagos and Hell Angels in Lake County.
The centerpiece of his statement was the commentary he provided to a compilation of the casino’s video footage that recorded the fight and events leading up to it, though. Different colored and shaped arrows pointed out the parties involved in the incident to ensure the jury was able to keep track of who was who in the semi-blurry video.
When the video showed Vagos members Michael Burns and Kristopher Perkins enter the casino wearing the “soft” colors of their motorcycle club, Grothe reminded the jury of gang expert Jorge Gil-Blanco’s testimony that the Hells Angels would have considered their attendance a challenge.
“At this point, the Hells Angels know they’ve got a Vagos at the event. They’ve staked it out and they’ve got an area they’re claiming, that is Lake County. And they’ve got someone wearing Vagos colors at an event they consider theirs,” Grothe said.
He also said it was very significant Hells Angels member and defendant Nicolas Carrillo and Hells Angels member David Dabbs are seen hanging near the exit (where the fight occurred) before returning to the club’s merchandise table to talk with Hells Angels members and defendants Josh Johnson and Timothy Bianchi.
Soon after, Bianchi and Dabbs split off and follow Burns and Perkins toward the exit. On their way through the double doors, Grothe pointed out how Bianchi and Dabbs bracketed the two Vagos by going through separate doors.
“A very professional movement demonstrated here,” he added.
At Johnson and Carrillo’s late arrival, “instead of two on two, there’s four on two,” Grothe said. “When you talk about aiding and abetting in a group activity, this is what it comes down to right here.”
After Burns ends up on the floor, only his legs can be seen from the camera’s point of view. His legs jerk up because he was suffering multiple body blow kicks, Grothe said.
Grothe also conjured up some of the more distasteful pieces of contextual evidence to prove why the Hells Angels should be considered a gang.
“These folks are not just a bunch of high school punks,” Grothe said. “They revel in violence; they award patches for it … you should be scared,” he added. “The violence and intimidation goes to heart of the organization.”
He pointed to the secrecy of the club’s business, their alleged recognition of members’ criminal behavior and the demands made of ex-members in bad standing.
“This gang has firm control over its membership. People do not go off and do things contrary to the well being of the gang. A core purpose of these folks is the commission of any number of offense to control territory and people and other clubs. They maintain control by excellent discipline, organization and the regular use of violence.”
He concluded asking the jury to find Bianchi, Carrillo and Johnson guilty of all their charges.
The defense counsel’s final arguments will be covered in Friday’s edition of the Record-Bee.
