Local news briefs for October 5, 2000

Thursday, Oct. 5, 2000 | 11:13 a.m.

Nevada Power employees held up

North Las Vegas Police are looking for two men who robbed a Nevada Power Co. office Wednesday night.

Police said the two men went into the office at 2225 Civic Center Drive after hours and found only a few employees and security guards. Police said the employees were tied up and robbed.

Forum to be televised Friday

Attorneys, politicians and the public will discuss issues surrounding home-construction defects during a daylong seminar Friday.

State Sens. Dina Titus and Mike Schneider, both D-Las Vegas, will debate the issue. Other speakers include Nevada Supreme Court Justices Nancy Becker and Bill Maupin, county Building Department Director Bob Weber and local attorneys.

The seminar will be open to the public and will be televised live on Cox Cable Channel 4.

Company settles suit by state

In the first use of a new law prohibiting "slamming and cramming," a telephone company has agreed to pay $175,000 to the state for allegedly switching customers to its long distance service without their permission.

Deputy Attorney General Marshall Smith said Wednesday his office has about 70 complaints statewide from consumers. But he said Qwest, a Delaware Corp., has agreed to switch the customers back to their preferred service and has taken care of unauthorized charges.

The attorney general's office sued Qwest, which agreed to an out-of-court settlement that included a promise to abide by the 1999 law prohibiting these practices.

Date set for Macayo suspect

A February trial date has been set for the fourth suspect arrested in the robbery that resulted in the loss of a Metro Police officer's eye.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure on Wednesday set Terrence Winn's trial date for Feb. 12 after the defendant pleaded not guilty to several charges levied against him in connection with the June 14 robbery of the Macayo Vegas restaurant on West Charleston Boulevard.

An indictment unsealed Friday accuses, Winn, 20, of being with Markus Weatherspoon, Darnell Harris and Tamika Beavers when the restaurant was robbed.

After three men robbed the restaurant, they encountered Officer Peter Rossi, 26. One man fired two shots at Rossi and one of the bullets struck Rossi in the face, causing him to lose the sight in one of his eyes.

Beavers, who is believed to be the getaway driver, is scheduled to go to trial next month. Weatherspoon's trial is set for March and Harris' trial is scheduled for April.

Federal grant to be distributed

About $1.1 million in federal money is being distributed to 45 groups or programs in Nevada to fight domestic violence, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Wednesday.

The largest grant of $75,000 goes to the police department at the University of Nevada, Reno for training officers statewide. Safe Nest will receive $51,250 for part-time advocates to be located in the police departments in North Las Vegas, Mesquite and Boulder City.

Del Papa, chairwoman of the Nevada Domestic Violence Prevention Council, said $40,000 each is going to the city attorneys offices in Henderson, Las Vegas, Reno and Sparks to finance a domestic violence victim advocate. And $35,000 is set aside for the Clark County district attorney's office for the same purpose.

Suspect arrested in Mesquite

An Ogden, Utah, man wanted in connection with the kidnap and sexual molestation of an 11-year-old girl has been arrested in Nevada.

Arthur Ray "Bubba" Martinez, 32, was arrested in Mesquite about 7:50 p.m. Wednesday, Ogden Police Lt. Dan Greenhalgh said.

Police say the 11-year-old girl was kidnapped in Ogden late Tuesday.

Interim leader named to post

A department chairman has been tapped to become interim president of the University of Nevada, Reno, until a national search is conducted to find someone permanent to fill the post.

Stephen McFarlane, 58, has been nominated by Chancellor Jane Nichols to temporarily succeed outgoing president Joe Crowley, who is stepping down Dec. 31 after 23 years.

McFarlane, who has been at UNR for 26 years, is chairman of the speech pathology and audiology department.

McFarlane said he's not interested in the president's job permanently.

An autopsy on a man

found dead Tuesday behind a building in the 2600 block of South McLeod Drive found no injuries that would indicate any foul play, Metro Police said. George James Untied, 35, of Las Vegas, apparently had been dead for some time when officers and paramedics were called to the area.