Local news briefs for November 6, 2000

Monday, Nov. 6, 2000 | 11:02 a.m.

Police search for two missing kids

Metro Police are searching for a man who is accused of abducting his girlfriend's two children over the weekend.

The mother of the children was in the process of separating from her boyfriend, Jorge Juarez, 37, police said.

Juarez is suspected of taking the two children, Kevin Juarez, 2, and Brandon Hudson, 5. Kevin is his child, but he is not the father of Brandon and has no legal or parental rights, police said.

The mother left the home Saturday night, and when she returned Sunday, Juarez had packed up all of his belongings and left with the two children, police said.

Police suspect Juarez may have taken the children to California or Mexico and may be accompanied by the children's nanny. Detectives are in the process of getting a warrant charging Juarez with first-degree kidnapping, police said.

Juarez is driving a 1991 Chevrolet minivan with Nevada license plates 282 KXU.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Metro's missing persons unit at 229-LOST or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Teens to go to trial separately

Two teenagers accused of gunning down an elderly Las Vegas couple in September 1998 will go to trial separately.

District Judge Lee Gates granted a defense motion Friday severing the trials of Shauntay Wheaton, 17, and DeAngelo Mitchell, 18.

Wheaton is scheduled to go to trial Dec. 4 and Mitchell's trial will follow immediately afterward.

Defense attorneys Chip Siegel and Tony Sgro told Gates they wanted separate trials because their clients blame each other in the shooting deaths of Flora Johnson, 86, and Azel Evans, 71.

They had originally thought they could present a united defense, but later realized they can't, the attorneys said.

Police suspect that the boys, who were 15 and 16 at the time, killed the couple while robbing them in their Blankenship Avenue home, near Carey Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard, on Sept. 28, 1998.

Johnson was known as the "Candy Lady" because she often sold neighborhood children candy, ice cream and pop.

Wheaton and Mitchell could get life without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Man wins round in appeals court

CARSON CITY -- A man who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexual assault in Clark County in 1992 has won a round in his battle to appeal his conviction.

But it may be academic.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday ruled that Bennie S. Loveland should have a hearing in federal District Court in Las Vegas to argue his lawyer was ineffective in failing to appeal his conviction before the deadline.

But Loveland was paroled from prison in September after spending about eight years behind bars.

Loveland can now go to court to prove his attorney failed to file a direct appeal or to inform him of his right to file the appeal, the court ruled.

Settlement reached with manufacturer

CARSON CITY -- A proposed settlement has been reached between a vision company and 32 states over antitrust allegations involving the marketing of contact lenses.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Friday that Nevadans will benefit from the plan, which still must be approved by a federal judge in Jacksonville, Fla., on Feb. 27.

The settlement is with CIBA Vision, which proposes to give a $35 cash rebate to consumers who buy certain CIBA replacement lenses in the future; a package of coupons for consumers of CIBA Vision products; and payment by CIBA of $5 million.

Part of the money will pay for national newspaper advertisements about the proposed settlement and other pending suits.

Cases are still pending against Johnson & Johnson Vision Products Inc. and Bausch & Lomb, and a trial is set for March 19 next year in Jacksonville.

The attorneys general complained that the manufacturers prevented consumers from purchasing the products from discount suppliers, such as mail order, discount drug stores and the Internet.

Lens wearers who bought replacement contacts after Jan. 1, 1998, are eligible for the refund.

Physical therapy program accredited

UNLV's physical therapy program received accreditation last week from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.

As a result, spring graduates of the program will be eligible to take state licensing exams, Harvey Wallmann, the program's director, said.

UNLV officials hope that its physical therapy grads will be able to help in underserved areas of Nevada.

The 2-year-old program is the only one in the state and offers a master of science degree.

Bus rolls over, killing one

CHINLE, Ariz. -- A bus carrying high school students to a band competition drove off a road Friday and flipped over, killing one person and seriously injuring another, Navajo police said.

The Chinle Unified School District Bus, which was en route to Las Vegas, had 37 people on board when it drove off Highway 191 on the Navajo Reservation. No other vehicles were involved, police spokesman Capt. Francis Bradley said.

He said there was a heavy fog at the time of the morning crash but couldn't say whether it played a role in the accident.

A chaperone, Vestina Tso, 20, was killed.