Las Vegas news briefs for July 15, 1999

Thursday, July 15, 1999 | 10:36 a.m.

Fugitive arrested in Las Vegas

An 18-year-old man wanted by authorities on charges of robbery and fleeing prosecution was arrested late Wednesday by a team of local law enforcement officers.

Sage Alexander Weakland was taken into custody around midnight Tuesday in a friend's apartment in the 4700 block of East Owens Avenue near Lamb Boulevard by a team of FBI agents and officers from the Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson police departments.

Investigators said Weakland staged his own death in a July 1997 boating accident on the James River in Virginia. A monthlong investigation located Weakland in Las Vegas, police said.

Chemical spill closes Highland

A small chemical spill closed a portion of South Highland Drive in the industrial area south of Sahara Avenue for an hour Wednesday.

Just after 10 a.m. Las Vegas firefighters found a small box marked "corrosive" lying on Highland Avenue leaking an unknown liquid. The fire department's hazardous materials team determined that the liquid was sulfuric acid and neutralized it with a dry powder fire extinguisher.

None of the chemical spilled into any sewers or run-off areas and no one was evacuated.

Former Vucanovich aide resigns

Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, has accepted the resignation of a top aide arrested last week in Reno on a stalking charge, the latest in a series of arrests spanning a 15-year period.

Gregory Peek, Chenoweth's legislative director since 1996 and aide to former Rep. Barbara Vucanovich, R-Nev., has been arrested on indecent exposure or related charges five times. He pleaded guilty or was convicted in three cases.

Chenoweth, a three-term Idaho Republican, accepted Peek's resignation Tuesday night.

"We were all very surprised by this turn of events," said Keith Rupp, Chenoweth's chief of staff. "He's got some issues to address, and we hope he's successful at addressing them."

Rupp said he conducts extensive interviews and carefully checks references. In Peek's case, Rupp said, he came highly recommended from Vucanovich, a who served in the House between 1983 and 1996.

Attempts to reach Vucanovich were unsuccessful.