Las Vegas news briefs for July 20, 1999

Tuesday, July 20, 1999 | 10:46 a.m.

Familiar guy in line at DMV: Gov. Guinn

CARSON CITY -- If the distinguished-looking guy waiting in a DMV line Monday with more than a dozen other people looked familiar, he should: It was Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn.

Guinn said he waited one hour and five minutes to renew registrations on two cars that he and his wife Dema own. Once he got to a clerk at the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety office, he says the renewal only took a few minutes.

By the time he got to the head of the line, Guinn said he had talked with just about everyone around him.

"The time went by real fast," he said. "One guy said that if I didn't mind standing in line, he didn't either."

"Someone else said, 'Are you sure you have to stand in line?' I said, 'Yes. I'm no different than anyone else.' "

Guinn said he would have registered by mail, but figured July was too far along to ensure that he'd get renewal stickers by Aug. 1, when his current license stickers expire.

Man arrested in 10 restaurant heists

A Henderson man who police say robbed 10 fast-food restaurants in southeast Las Vegas over the last four months was arrested last week.

Charles Vincent Dandy Jr., 30, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on eight counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and two counts of attempted robbery with a deadly weapon. Police say Dandy would roll up to drive-through windows, order a soda and then pass the employee a note that said he had a gun and wanted money.

Lt. John Alamshaw of Metro's robbery detail said Dandy would cover his car's license plates with paper and don sunglasses to hide his identity from surveillance cameras. An anonymous tip led detectives to Dandy's job at a car dealership.

Dandy primarily targeted Jack-In-The-Box restaurants, including one particular store that he hit four times, Alamshaw said. Police believe Dandy got away with $40 to $50 in each holdup.

Metro review board still on hold

A citizens review board formed earlier this year to investigate abuse cases filed against Metro police officers is still on hold while Clark County and Las Vegas officials work on final details.

While Clark County commissioners approved the independent board that will have subpoena powers, city council members disagreed with portions of the new ordinance. The city wanted equal say in naming a director and regulating the board.

After nearly two months of discussions, city officials are reportedly satisfied with having input on the director and will allow the county to oversee the citizens board. Commissioners are expected to vote on the final ordinance during its Aug. 3 meeting.

Bennett family to receive no benefits

Neither Arthur Bennett, the former Marine who staged his own death five years ago, nor his family will receive any military benefits in conjunction with his death July 12.

Bennett, 45, hanged himself in his Clark County Jail cell. The father of three girls was facing an immediate court-martial on desertion and sexual misconduct charges and a February murder trial. Police suspect Bennett faked his own death in a 1994 trailer explosion near Lake Mead to avoid a court-martial on sexual assault charges.

The Marine Corps buried a man they believed to be Bennett in the veterans cemetery in Boulder City in 1994. But Bennett resurfaced in Utah, where he was charged with sexual assault against three girls, including two of his daughters. The burned body found in the trailer has never been identified.

"It appears that there will be no type of benefits provided in the Bennett case," Maj. David Lapan, a Marine spokesman, said. Bennett was not eligible for the military's standard life insurance policy at the time of his death and his survivors are not eligible for benefits, Lapan said.

Four of Bennett's relatives are facing federal charges of defrauding the government by accepting more than $300,000 in military and Social Security benefits in 1994.

A sister and brother from California have offered to handle Bennett's burial, according to a local funeral home. Other Bennett family members had refused to claim the body.