In May of this year, when the sheriff took steps to avert a possible altercation between known gang rivals, the Vagos and Hells Angels, and prevent a likely disastrous scenario in our community he was, as the saying goes, spot on.

Given the recent clash in Sparks, Nev., between these same two notorious motorcycle gangs, we may well have dodged a bullet.

Unfortunately, the people in the Sparks casino where the clash occurred were, literally, dodging bullets.

Media reports tell of a horrific scene with people diving for cover in what is being called a shootout between the Vagos and Hells Angels.

When the dust settled the president of the San Jose Chapter of the Hells Angels was dead and two others were injured. In a nearby location another person was shot the next day, possibly in retaliation.

At last check, a Vagos gang member was in custody while the search for the suspected killer of the Hells Angels president was under way. How that will end is uncertain but I pray there are no innocent bystanders around if the Hells Angels find the suspected killer before the police.

History shows that to these gangs, bystanders are inconsequential. To this point, a shootout in August of 2010 between the Vagos and Hells Angels left five wounded after some 50 shots were exchanged in the small, unsuspecting neighborhood where the incident took place.

It’s impossible to know if the events that transpired in Sparks could have been prevented. This will no doubt be discussed in debriefings that will surely follow.

But there are poignant and instructive parallels in the handling of these events and those that occurred less than five months earlier in Lake County.

When the Vagos drove into Lakeport they created a specter of disruption and fear such that law enforcement agencies joined forces to keep the peace and the sheriff made the decision to stage a strong police presence at the county lines.

Similarly in Sparks, heightened security and a strong showing of support from various law enforcement agencies was reported.

Also as in Sparks, where decision makers restricted movement and shut down business for a time, similar decisions were made in Lakeport. Police were positioned at strategic entry and exit points, inhibiting movement and effectively shutting down normal activity until it was deemed that Lakeport citizens and patrons were safe.

Later, when the sheriff received word from official sources that the Hells Angles were heading toward Lake County, presumably to war with the Vagos, he took cautionary steps to avoid further disruption and possible calamity by closely monitoring the Vagos and staging officers at county lines until he could be certain the Hells Angels were not heading our way.

In Sparks, a long planned event that was to draw thousands was canceled out of an abundance of caution and extra security and patrols were added, there and in nearby locals.

 

Thankfully the Hells Angels did not show on the day the Vagos converged on Lakeport, although several days later a Vagos member was severely beaten by Hells Angels at one of our local casinos. In this case, the sheriff’s diligence in pursing and securing evidence from the crime scene resulted in search warrants and arrests.

 

The sheriff took plenty of heat, including an ongoing investigation into a claim he may have violated the civil rights of the Hells Angels, when he took steps to prevent possible deadly consequences on Lake County soil.

And while we may never really know if we dodged a bullet, one thing is now abundantly clear. Given the obvious callous disregard these gangs have for the rights of law-abiding citizens and innocent bystanders, a fact recently punctuated by the shootout in Sparks, our sheriff and the other law enforcement personnel involved in making the decisions on the day the Vagos paid us a visit knew whose civil rights needed protecting – the citizens of Lake County.

Olga Martin Steele lives in Clearlake Oaks, Calif.