Local news briefs for November 2, 2000

Thursday, Nov. 2, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

Guilty plea in Macayo robbery

A Las Vegas woman charged with being the getaway driver in a robbery that left a Metro Police officer blind in one eye has taken a deal.

Tamika Beavers pleaded guilty Wednesday to robbery with use of a deadly weapon in connection with the June robbery of the Macayo Vegas restaurant on Charleston Boulevard.

Beavers could get between four and 10 years in prison or 12 to 30 years when she is sentenced in April.

Police believe Beavers, 20, was with Markus Weatherspoon, 22, Darnell Harris, 21, and Terrence Winn when they robbed the restaurant on June 14.

Police allege that after robbing the restaurant at gunpoint, three gunmen ran outside to find Metro Officer Peter Rossi pulling up in his patrol car.

One of the gunmen, believed to be Harris, fired shots at Rossi's car. One struck him in the face, causing him to lose sight in one of his eyes.

The three men are scheduled to go to trial March 5.

City jail inmate remains at large

Authorities continue to look for an escaped prisoner from the city of Las Vegas Detention Center on Stewart Avenue near Mojave Road.

Michael Dwayne Smith, who was serving a short misdemeanor sentence and was scheduled to be released next month, walked away from the detention center about 4 a.m. Wednesday, City Marshal spokeswoman Lt. Karen Coyne said.

Marshals are still determining the details of Smith's escape, but do know that he was assigned to the facility's culinary unit when he escaped.

Driver may face criminal charge

TONOPAH -- A misdemeanor criminal charge may be filed against the driver of a tour bus that crashed near Tonopah, injuring dozens of British tourists, prosecutors say.

The Esmeralda County district attorney is considering whether to charge the 54-year-old driver with a single careless driving charge, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said Wednesday.

The Nevada Highway Patrol said investigators recommended the district attorney charge him with failure to operate a motor vehicle with due care.

Sgt. Steve Cabrales said there were no mechanical problems with the bus. He told the Reno Gazette-Journal that the only thing they could determine was that the driver "apparently was operating the bus in an unsafe manner."

The bus swerved back and forth before it flipped on its side on U.S. Highway 6 about 30 miles north of Tonopah on Sept. 7

All 41 people on board were injured, 15 of them seriously.

Cabrales said all of the victims have since returned to Britain.

The driver, Lotfali Rankouh of San Diego, has had no comment on the crash.

The bus, operated by California Sun Line, was heading from Las Vegas to Mammoth Lakes, Calif., when the rollover occurred.

The patrol earlier determined no drugs or alcohol were involved and speed was not believed to be a factor.