Thursday, April 20, 2000 | 11:49 a.m.
Release of alien detainees sought
The federal public defender's office in Las Vegas is seeking the release of 98 immigrants being held in local jails awaiting deportation.
The immigrants are being held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service under a 1996 federal law that requires incarceration and deportation of aliens who commit crimes. But many have been held in local jails for years beyond their sentences because they cannot be returned to their native countries.
The motion follows a ruling last week by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that an INS detainee in Seattle could not be held for more than 90 days.
Trial date set for LV man
A June trial date has been set for a 59-year-old Las Vegas man charged with shooting his elderly landlady to death last June.
District Judge Joseph Bonaventure scheduled Joel Martin Mark's trial for June 19 in the death of Mary Banister, 75.
According to police, Banister was found dead in her Palm Street mobile home June 16. She died of gunshots wound to the chest.
Trial scheduled in deaths of two
A June trial date has been set for an accused drunken driver charged with killing an elderly couple and seriously injuring their 7-year-old grandson.
District Judge John McGroarty scheduled Cy Van Norman's trial for June 12 after Van Norman pleaded not guilty and invoked his right to a speedy trial.
Van Norman, 34, was indicted on three counts of felony driving under the influence, three counts of reckless driving and two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with a Feb. 2 accident.
According to police, Van Norman's Jeep Wrangler struck a Volkswagen Jetta head-on near Hollywood Boulevard and Hathaway Drive. Charles O'Laughlin, 75, and his wife, Vaun O'Laughlin, 64, were killed and their grandson, Charles O'Laughlin III, was critically injured.
Veto ceremony being planned
Aides for President Clinton are still trying to coordinate their schedules to arrange a veto ceremony for a bill that would send the nation's nuclear waste to Nevada as early as 2007.
Staffers for Nevada's delegation say Clinton has tentatively chosen Tuesday for an official veto ceremony. Nevada's four members in Congress, who have opposed the bill, are expected to attend.
The bill establishes rules for shipments of high-level waste to Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, for permanent burial. Clinton opposes several technical aspects of the bill and has said he would veto it. Both the Senate and House passed the bill. Clinton has until Wednesday to sign or veto it. If he does nothing, the bill becomes law.
Bank robbery suspect charged
A man alleged to have committed a string of Las Vegas bank robberies has been charged in U.S. District Court.
A federal grand jury indicted Keith Lanard Traylor Wednesday on seven counts of bank robbery and armed bank robbery. According to the indictment, Traylor robbed seven downtown banks between Feb. 26 and April 5, making off with a total of $34,560.
Traylor is alleged to have used a black plastic pistol during two of the robberies.
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