Local news briefs for November 1, 1999

Monday, Nov. 1, 1999 | 11:53 a.m.

Suspect arrested; police seek two others

Metro Police have made an arrest in connection with Tuesday's early morning robbery at Harrah's hotel-casino.

Draketonial Michael Macon, 30, has been charged with one count of robbery and one count of burglary both with a deadly weapon in the 4 a.m. robbery, police said.

Police believe that Macon and two other armed men rushed into Harrah's and demanded money from change personnel. The three then ran to a white Cadillac waiting in front of the casino on Las Vegas Blvd. South.

The Cadillac has been recovered and police continue to look for two other two men.

Beating victim remains in coma

Metro Police have determined that a man in a coma at University Medical Center since Oct. 6 is Roland Levins, a 24-year-old Las Vegan.

Levins was found unconscious and severely beaten in Sunset Park on the evening of Oct. 5, just west of the park's duck pond near a baseball field.

Levins' last known address is listed as an apartment at 1825 E. St. Louis Ave., police said.

Police believe Levins is the victim of an attempted homicide and are seeking help finding out how Levins ended up in the park. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 229-3581 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Body of man found near Lake Mead

Two Las Vegas residents four-wheeling in a desert area off State Route 147 between Henderson and Lake Mead discovered a dead body Friday evening.

The body is believed to have been in the desert for two days and possibly more, and there was a gunshot wound in the head, Metro Police said.

The victim is a white man, in his mid-20s to early 30s, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 140 to 150 pounds with brown hair and a goatee. He was wearing a gray Big Dogs T-shirt, faded black Levis and white Nike shoes.

Anyone with information about this crime or the victim's identity is asked to call police at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

11 people left homeless by blaze

A Sunday night fire in eastern Las Vegas resulted in 11 people left homeless and a firefighter injured on Halloween.

About 9:45 p.m. Clark County firefighters responded to the area of Charleston and Nellis boulevards to find smoke coming from the second story.

The fire at 5405 Requa Ave. is believed to have spread from the fireplace into a wall and into the home's attic, fire officials said. Investigators were called to the house to determine an exact cause. The fireplace flue was found closed, but because the fire in the fireplace burned for four hours with no problem, officials are not ready to declare the closed flue the cause of the fire.

The blaze left six children ranging from 18 months to 13 years old and five adults homeless, said Bob Leinbach, public information officer for the fire department.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Red Cross are helping the families get back on their feet.

Firefighter Maceo Wollard injured his hand fighting the blaze and was taken to a University Medical Center Quick-Care for treatment, Leinbach said.

Car hits man trying to cross Flamingo

Jaywalking is believed to have claimed another life in Las Vegas early Sunday morning.

A Hispanic male who has not yet been identified became the 27th person to die in an accident because of pedestrian error after trying to cross Flamingo Road outside a crosswalk in front of the Rio hotel-casino at about 3:40 a.m., Metro Police said.

The man reportedly tried to cross from the north side of Flamingo to the south side when he was hit by a Ford Crown Victoria heading west on Flamingo. The driver of the Ford, Fabrizio Amori, 59, attempted to avoid the man as he stepped in front of the car, but could not, police said.

Traffic stop leads several charges

An Arizona man wanted for drug trafficking and manufacturing and 40 counts of possession of sexual pictures of minors was arrested after a traffic stop on U.S. 95 near the town of Cal-Nev-Ari south of Searchlight.

A Metro Police officer from the Laughlin substation made the stop and arrested David William Linder, 45.

Police said large containers of chemicals were found in the back of Linder's pickup and are being tested to determine whether Linder will face an additional charge of manufacturing a controlled substance, police said.

Linder's bail has been set at $50,000.

Man arrested during traffic stop gets away

Metro Police are still searching for a man who was arrested Wednesday after a traffic stop in Laughlin but escaped from police at the scene.

Officers from Metro's Laughlin substation stopped a car driven by Clyde Eric Britt III, 33, about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

A pound of marijuana, a semiautomatic assault rifle, a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun, $2,200 in cash and marijuana cookies were found in the car, police said.

Britt was taken into custody, handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car, police said. While police were impounding the evidence from Britt's car he escaped from the patrol car, police said.

Police and the Nevada Highway Patrol searched for Britt for three hours but could not locate him.

Police say Britt is white, 5 feet 6 inches tall, 160 pounds with a shaved head and blue eyes.

Britt is believed to be a survivalist and a white supremacist, and is thought to be skilled in the martial arts, police said.

Anyone with information about Britt's whereabouts is asked to call Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Consumers told to check milk, franks

Two recalls may affect local shoppers.

Anderson Dairy is recalling its whole, 2 percent, 1 percent and fat-free milk with the expiration date of Nov. 13.

Post production testing has shown that those milk products may develop a bad taste and aroma, a dairy spokesman said.

Consumers can return milk dated Nov. 13 to the store they bought it from. The dairy has established a help line at 642-7507, extension 258, to answer any questions about the recalled milk.

Possibly contaminated frankfurters being recalled by a New Jersey company have been removed from the shelves of Las Vegas area Lucky supermarkets.

Marathon Enterprises Inc. has recalled its 16-ounce and 5-pound packages of "Sabrett" and "Western Beef" brand frankfurters, according to the Clark County Health District.

The recall includes all franks with "EST 8854" inside the USDA seal of approval. Anyone who bought these products is asked to return them to the store where they were purchased, health district officials said.

The franks may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea.

Lake Mead highway may have delays

The National Park Service is warning drivers of delays on the road between Lake Mead and the intersection of the boundary of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Henderson.

The road is scheduled to be resurfaced starting Tuesday. The work is expected to last through Nov. 9. Drivers can expect about a 15-minute delay going to and from the lake.

Reno arts chief to take state post

Gov. Kenny Guinn has appointed Reno's art and culture director as head of the state's Department of Museums, Library and Arts.

Michael Hillerby will take over the position on Nov. 29. He has been a performer and chorus member with the Nevada Opera for 15 seasons, and his duties with the city of Reno have included supervising several art festivals and exhibits.

He also supervised the renovation of a 90-year-old school building that recently opened as Reno's Arts and Culture Center.

Organization opens office in Reno

The American Civil Liberties Union has opened a part-time office in Reno and has hired a San Francisco man as its executive director.

The Nevada ACLU, founded in 1966, is headquartered in Las Vegas. The Reno operation, which will share offices with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, will concentrate on lobbying and advocacy of such things as free speech, equal rights and employment discrimination.

Ben Felix, formerly co-chairman of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in San Francisco, has been hired as the executive director.

The financing comes from a Ford Foundation grant made to the Progressive Leadership Alliance.