Las vegas news briefs for July 12, 1999

Monday, July 12, 1999 | 10:45 a.m.

The principal of a Las Vegas elementary school was taken into custody Sunday after a two-hour stand-off with police ended peacefully.

Roy Shupe, 52, the principal of Doris Hancock Elementary School, was arrested at his home at 3213 Grey Dolphin Court and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a felony charge of obstructing an officer with a weapon.

A relative of Shupe called police just before 3 p.m. Sunday and said Shupe was threatening to kill himself. Police contacted Shupe, who had a gun and told officers he would not leave the house. Police evacuated about 25 homes and 40 people in the neighborhood. The SWAT team and negotiators were called to the site.

Around 5:20 p.m., police contacted Shupe again and he left the house without incident.

Five teens hurt in car crash

Five teenagers were sent to the hospital Sunday night after the car they were traveling in struck a tree.

The teens, all from Las Vegas, were riding in a 1986 Mitsubishi Mirage northbound on Maryland Parkway when the 19-year-old driver attempted to make a sweeping right-hand turn onto Rue 13 Street, police said. The driver lost control of the car, which hit a tree head-on.

The force of the crash caused loose items in the rear of the car to lurch forward and hit several passengers. All five teens were taken to University Medical Center with moderate to serious injuries.

The accident is still under investigation, although police believe the car was traveling too fast.

NLV man indicted in June death

A North Las Vegas man has been indicted by a Clark County grand jury on murder charges in the shooting death of William Hall Jr. on June 18.

Leroy Thomas Towner, who already is in the North Las Vegas jail on murder charges, is scheduled to be arraigned July 15 in District Judge Kathy Hardcastle's courtroom.

Chief District Judge Lee Gates set bail at $500,000 on the charges that could put Towner in prison for life if he is convicted.

Woman killed crossing street

A woman jaywalking was killed when she was hit by a car on Las Vegas Boulevard Friday.

Mary Hansen, 44, of Las Vegas was crossing Las Vegas Boulevard South near Wigwam Avenue, Metro Police said.

A 17-year-old was driving northbound on Las Vegas Boulevard when he hit the woman, whom he didn't see, police said.

Seven arrests at alcohol checkpoint

Seven arrests were made Saturday night and Sunday morning from a sobriety checkpoint Metro's traffic section operated at Rancho Road and Washington Avenue.

More than 4,500 vehicles passed through the checkpoint from 7 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., police said.

Of the 53 fatal accidents in Metro's jurisdiction this year, 24 of them have involved alcohol, police said.

Charges against NLV cop dismissed

North Las Vegas Municipal Judge James Kelly on Friday dismissed two misdemeanor battery charges against a North Las Vegas police officer accused of assaulting two fellow officers Dec. 22.

Kelly threw out the charges after a one-day trial for Michael Thomas, 38, a Drug Awareness Resistance Education officer.

Thomas had been accused of attacking detectives William Brooks and Michael Bodnar while Thomas was being questioned about a criminal complaint he had filed against officer Dave Galyen.

Road work in Summerlin, Henderson

Construction work to improve Summerlin Parkway near Town Center Drive will continue through Tuesday.

Traffic delays and disruptions on Summerlin Parkway can be expected at the intersection from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The work will set the stage for crews to erect steel beams to start work on building a bridge over Town Center as part of the Summerlin Parkway extension project.

Nevada Department of Transportation crews also will be working through the night on Industrial Road near the Sahara overpass through Thursday and on Lake Mead Drive in Henderson between Interstate 15 and Pecos Road through July 26.

The paving work on Sahara is scheduled to run from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The Lake Mead Drive paving will go from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

FOR THE RECORD:

The Clark County School Board

meeting that was canceled because of flooding on Thursday has been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. July 22 at the Education Center, 2832 E. Flamingo Rd.

The Las Vegas Municipal Court

has given a two-week reprieve to anyone with a traffic citation who was scheduled to appear in traffic court on July 8 -- the day the valley was hit by record flooding. The court is granting the two-week continuance to reduce stress on the court's phone system and to avoid further congestion on downtown streets. For more information call 382-6421.