News briefs for September 21, 1999

Tuesday, Sept. 21, 1999 | 11:31 a.m.

Two teenagers killed in collision

Two teenagers killed in a two-car collision on State Route 159 near Blue Diamond Road Friday have been identified by the Clark County Coroner as Lindsay Menendez-Hill, 15, of Las Vegas, and Joshua Eikens, 17, of Henderson.

Eikens, a senior at Bishop Gorman High School, was driving a car south on Route 159 shortly after 4 p.m. when he lost control while passing another car on the shoulder of the road and traveled into the northbound lanes, colliding with a car driven by Joyce Stern, 44, of Latrobe, Pa., the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

Stern and her husband were not injured. The teenagers died at the scene, the NHP said. Eikens and Menendez-Hill were not wearing seat belts.

Coroner IDs man killed in jewelry heist

A security officer slain Thursday during a robbery at the Chong Hing jewelry store, 4205 Spring Mountain Road, has been identified by the Clark County coroner as Kenneth Bailey, 37, of Henderson.

Metro Police are continuing their investigation into the daring 11:30 a.m. heist, in which two men in ski masks stole high-priced jewelry after one of them shot Bailey in front of the store. The thieves escaped in a blue Toyota Camry.

Police believe the crime may be related to a robbery in July of a Milpitas, Calif., store. Both are owned by the same individuals.

Worker killed in accident identified

A construction worker who was killed when the walls of a trench at the under-construction Water Reclamation Facility in Henderson collapsed has been identified by the Clark County coroner as Kenn Egbert, 36, of St. George, Utah.

Egbert, who was buried by dirt, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 10:30 a.m. Thursday accident at 200 Athens Road, near East Sunset Road and Boulder Highway. Egbert was employed by Expert Excavating.

The Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident.

Coroner says drugs killed journalist

Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial writer Rafael Tammariello died of opiate intoxication, the Clark County coroner's office said today, ruling the Sept. 10 death as accidental.

Drugs and a blood-tipped needle were found at the scene of Tammariello's death, the bathroom of his Las Vegas home. Opiates include opium, morphine and heroin.

The coroner had delayed ruling on the cause of death pending toxicology tests that came back from the lab early today.

According to a Metro Police report released last week, Tammariello, 48, was found with a bathrobe sash tied around his left arm below his elbow and a spot of blood on his arm, indicating a "probable injection site." A spoon with residue in it and a syringe also were found at the scene, the report says.

Tammariello's wife told police her husband "had been depressed for approximately a year and a half, but did not seek any kind of medical help," the report said. "She states that he used to smoke opium, but she had not seen him do that in quite a while."

Computers stolen from party offices

Clark County Republican Party Chairman Dr. Lonnie Hammargren said this morning he has no idea why someone would steal computers from the party headquarters.

"I haven't the foggiest idea," the former lieutenant governor said. "It doesn't compute."

Hard drives containing information such as e-mail messages, payments and contributions were in the computers stolen over the weekend from the GOP's new offices at West Charleston and Jones boulevards.

"We just moved there a month ago. We had our first meeting there," Hammargren, who was elected county chairman in July, said.

A key apparently was used to enter the office.

"That doesn't surprise me," Hammargren said. "There are keys floating around all over the place."

Man holds off police at his home

A man barricaded himself in his southeast Las Vegas home early today after he called police and said he had shot his wife.

Metro Police, however, could not immediately confirm if anyone had been shot at the home at 5063 Arvada Way in the area of Tropicana Avenue and Boulder Highway.

"All we can say right now is that we have a barricaded subject," Metro Lt. Marc Joseph said shortly before 10 a.m. The man had called police at about 8:30 a.m.

SWAT officers and negotiators were at the scene at presstime today, trying to talk the man out of his home.