Local news briefs for June 19, 2000

Monday, June 19, 2000 | 11:31 a.m.

Witnesses say feud turned violent

Metro Police are sorting through conflicting stories from witnesses about a Sunday afternoon shooting that sent one Las Vegas woman to the hospital.

The 22-year-old woman was shot in the abdomen about 12:45 p.m. near an apartment building in the 800 block of West Monroe Avenue, police said.

The victim was listed in serious condition in University Medical Center after undergoing emergency surgery.

Witnesses told police the victim was arguing with a woman who lived at the apartments, when a third woman intervened in the argument and shot the victim.

Police are searching for the woman who fired the gun. She is described as a tall black woman in her early 20s who was wearing a green shirt with the logo "Money" on the back, police said.

Anyone with information about this crime is urged to call police at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Man hit by SUV in Desert Shores

A jogger was killed Sunday morning when he was hit from behind by a sport utility vehicle as he ran through the northwest Las Vegas neighborhood of Desert Shores.

Sidney Baskin, 52, of Las Vegas was headed north on Harbor Island Drive near Point Conception Drive when he was hit by a 1993 Ford Explorer about 9 a.m., police said. The impact threw him onto the sidewalk.

Rosemarie Nowak, the 28-year-old driver of the Explorer, told police she had fallen asleep and did not see the jogger.

No charges have been filed against Nowak, and the investigation is continuing, police said.

Vandalism hits entrance station

An early morning fire caused minor damage Sunday to the Lake Mead Drive entrance station at Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The fire was reported about 4 a.m. Units from the Henderson Fire Department and National Park Service quickly put it out, recreation area spokesman Bert Byers said.

The fire damaged electrical wires and drywall and is believed to be an act of vandalism, Byers said.

Second passenger in shooting dies

Metro Police are looking for suspects in a double homicide after a 28-year-old became the second person to die from injuries sustained in a June 10 road rage shooting.

Moises Bernabe had been declared brain dead shortly after coming out of surgery on June 10, and about 2:30 p.m. Friday he died at University Medical Center.

Bernabe was shot with two other men in the early morning hours of June 10 after a light-blue Chevrolet van reportedly cut off the pickup they were riding in near Charleston Boulevard and 25th Street, police said. An argument followed, and someone in the van fired a gun into the pickup, hitting all three people inside, police said.

The driver of the pickup suffered only minor injuries, but another passenger, Leombardo Bernaba-Naranjo, 16, died at the scene.

Police are still looking for the van. Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Strip-Tropicana tops Metro's list

The most dangerous intersection in Las Vegas over the past month is Las Vegas Boulevard South at Tropicana Avenue, according to accident statistics generated by Metro Police.

A total of 40 accidents were reported at that intersection between May 11 and June 10, police said.

Also among the worst intersections were Paradise Road and Tropicana Avenue, with 31 accidents; Flamingo Road and Paradise, with 26 accidents; and Lake Mead and Rainbow boulevard, with 20.

High court halts city's wall plans

Property owners Lois and Cuthbert Mack have won a temporary stay from the Nevada Supreme Court to delay construction of a brick wall around the Bonanza Village subdivision in Las Vegas.

Justice Miriam Shearing Friday signed the stay and told the city of Las Vegas to answer the Macks' petition within 30 days. The city planned to start work on the wall Tuesday.

The Macks and the city have been arguing over the price of the couple's property. A District Court judge signed an order authorizing the city to pay $1,225. The city contends the Macks are demanding "an unreasonable price."

Republicans close gap on Democrats

More Republicans registered to vote in Nevada than Democrats over the last two months, but Democrats still maintain a slim lead in total numbers.

In figures tabulated by Secretary of State Dean Heller's office, 5,545 Republicans registered to vote between the end of March and the end of May compared with 4,985 Democrats.

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state 384,635 to 382,300.