Las Vegas news briefs

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

* VICTIM IDENTIFIED -- A Las Vegas man killed early Sunday when an apartment went up in flames has been identified as Carlos Avina, 26. The coroner's office has determined that Avina died of smoke inhalation suffered after the mattress he was sleeping on in the living room was ignited shortly before 5 a.m. at 500 N. 14th St. Fire investigators have ruled the blaze accidental. Five other men were inside the ground-floor apartment when the fire started, and safely escaped through a rear window, said Tim Szymanski, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman.

* FUGITIVE CAUGHT -- Linda Marie Fonteboa, one of the county's most wanted fugitives, is in custody. Fonteboa, 28, was arrested Nov. 12 after a traffic stop in Mays Landing, N.J., and extradited back to Las Vegas, said Metro Police Detective Michael Karstedt. Fonteboa was wanted by North Las Vegas Police on three counts of forgery. She was profiled in the SUN June 26.

* WOMAN KILLED -- Investigators have determined that a seat belt could have saved a Las Vegas woman's life when her car rolled in the northwest valley. Charlene Hawes was killed instantly after being ejected from her 1978 Ford about 5:40 a.m. Monday as she headed north on Michael Way near Avenida Caballo. Still undetermined is what caused Hawes to lose control of the vehicle, which spun into the desert and rolled once, Metro Police said.

* BUSINESS DAMAGED -- Fire officials are crediting an automatic sprinkler system for keeping a fire in an automotive transmission shop from spreading. The system's alarm notified the Las Vegas Fire Department shortly after 10 p.m. Monday that the sprinkler system had been activated inside the garage at 2624 S. Highland Drive, near Sahara Avenue. Firefighters cut through a steel door and found an automobile on fire inside the shop, said Tim Szymanski, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman. "The automatic sprinkler had confined the fire to the one auto and prevented it from spreading to three other vehicles in the shop," Szymanski said. Investigators have ruled the fire accidental, and are speculating that an electrical malfunction caused the vehicle to catch fire.