Local news briefs for May 19, 2000

Friday, May 19, 2000 | 10:49 a.m.

Man, 73, held in brother's death

The 74-year-old man paramedics found apparently beaten to death Tuesday in an apartment he shared with his brother was identified as Donald L. Brauch.

Brauch's brother, 73-year-old Ronald Brauch, was arrested on murder charges Tuesday and was being held in the Clark County Detention Center.

Ronald Brauch called 911 about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday claiming his brother was unresponsive, but when paramedics arrived at the apartment in the 2600 block of South Nellis Boulevard they discovered Donald Brauch dead.

Police said there were signs of blunt force trauma to Donald Brauch's body.

Fatal shooting called accidental

A Henderson man who accidentally shot his best friend to death in February was sentenced to no more than three years probation Thursday.

District Judge Kathy Hardcastle sentenced Frank Thomas McDonald, 21, after he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon in the Feb. 12 death of Mario Reyes, 26.

According to police, McDonald, Reyes and several other men were outside drinking in the 100 block of Silver Road when a 9 mm handgun they had been playing with went off, striking and killing Reyes.

Henderson Police said the men had the handgun because there was some animosity between them and another man, who was not there, over a woman.

Should McDonald not successfully complete his probation, he could end up serving as much as 5 1/2 years in prison.

Hardcastle also ordered McDonald to pay more than $7,000 in restitution, Deputy District Attorney Lisa Luzaich said.

Mesquite petition falls 5 names short

The drive to force a recall election for Mesquite Mayor Charles Horne has lost.

Pamela Crowell, deputy secretary of state for elections, notified Clark County that the recall petition fell five names short of the required 384.

Clark County Registrar Harvard Lomax had verified there were 386 qualified voters who signed the petition. But then seven people asked for their signatures to be removed, reducing the number below the required minimum.

There were 425 signatures on the original recall petition, but some names were disqualified, reducing the number to 386.

Horne was elected in June as mayor of the fastest-growing city in Nevada. One of the leaders of the recall was Ken Carter, the former mayor of the city.

Work being done on Interstate 15

Nevada Department of Transportation work crews will close down the Interstate 15 northbound off-ramp to westbound Lake Mead Boulevard on Sunday between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The crews will be doing maintenance work on the ramp, and motorists are advised to detour at D Street.

Monday and Tuesday evening's traffic will be slowed near the intersection of Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard by another NDOT crew. One eastbound and one westbound traffic lane on Flamingo and one northbound and one southbound lane on Las Vegas Boulevard will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. both days for paving.

Southern Nevada scores $9 million

$9 million Southern Nevada received nearly $9 million for highways, roads and bus projects after the full House approved the Transportation Appropriations Act today.

The vote was 395-13 with Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., voting in favor. Here is the distribution:

Northern Nevada received an additional $3 million, $1 million of it for Lake Tahoe.