Local news briefs for October 9, 2000

Monday, Oct. 9, 2000 | 11:23 a.m.

Police say crash was hit and run

A 26-year-old Las Vegas man was killed early today when his 1993 Saturn was struck on the driver's side in a collision at Hacienda Avenue and Valley View Boulevard, Metro Police said.

A 25-year-old Las Vegas man who fled the scene on foot after the crash was arrested at Tropicana Avenue and Decatur Boulevard and will be charged with felony hit-and-run after he is treated for injuries at University Medical Center, police said. Police did not release his name.

Police are trying to locate witnesses, who can call 229-3595 for an investigator or 385-5555 for Secret Witness.

Woman shot to death in apartment

Metro Police detectives are investigating a Saturday homicide that may have resulted from a domestic dispute.

A 22-year-old woman was shot to death in her bedroom at the Desert Point Apartments, 3255 E. Desert Inn Road.

Police have arrested Trent Dirden, 20, and charged him with one count of murder with a deadly weapon after he was found walking through the apartment complex carrying an infant.

The 5-month-old girl, Dirden's and the victim's child, was taken to Child Haven for protective custody. The woman's name was not released this morning pending notification of her family.

LV man, 58, dies after being hit

A 58-year-old Las Vegas man died today after he was hit by a car while walking across Las Vegas Boulevard North, Metro Police said.

The accident occurred about 2:30 a.m. near Walnut Road, police said, describing the pedestrian as a jaywalker.

The driver of the northbound vehicle was described only as a 42-year-old man from New Iberia, La. He stopped after hitting the man. He was not charged, police said.

Gun goes off in store struggle

Henderson Police are searching for a man in connection with the Saturday robbery of an Albertson's that ended with a cashier struggling with the suspect, who fired a gun inside the supermarket.

The bullet did not strike anyone, and no one was hurt in the robbery, police said.

The robbery occurred about 1:30 p.m. when a man showed a gun and took an undisclosed amount of money from a slot machine cashier, police said.

Police describe the suspect as black, between 25 and 30 years old, 5 feet 2 inches tall and 135 pounds. He has brown eyes and was last seen wearing a blue bandana, a black leather jacket and black pants.

Black taxpayers receive warning

The IRS is warning black residents about tax preparers offering to file for slavery reparations credits or refunds.

Such refunds aren't available because there is no such provision in tax law. Those who claim they can collect refunds for clients are misleading consumers, IRS officials said.

Two different schemes are being used by tax preparers. The first involves claiming a black investment credit or reparations. In the other, a form is attached to the tax return listing tax withholdings that hadn't occurred.

Those with questions about tax benefits or any other tax questions can call the IRS help line at (800) 829-1040.

Town refuses to settle case

Former Gilbert, Ariz., planner Yorgo Kagafas, who now works for the city of Las Vegas, was harassed and forced to quit after town officials found out he was HIV positive, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled.

The EEOC ruling, released by Kagafas on Friday, says the town's actions violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

But the town refuses to settle the matter, and the case has been sent to the Justice Department for a possible civil rights lawsuit against the town, according to EEOC records.

The planner accused town officials of forcing him to quit after they found out he was HIV positive. Kagafas said his supervisor forced him to work more than 40 hours a week and increased his workload after he submitted a letter from his doctor saying long hours would jeopardize his health.

In its ruling, the EEOC said Kagafas "was denied a reasonable accommodation and was harassed because of his disability and in retaliation for complaining about unlawful employment practices under the Americans with Disabilities Act."

The name of a man gunned down

Friday morning in the parking lot of a Las Vegas bar was released this morning as Jose Humberto Vargas-Garcia, 25. He was shot in the parking lot of the El Potrero bar on Sahara Avenue at Maryland Parkway, Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro Police's homicide unit said. Sergio Hernandez, 22, of Las Vegas has been charged with murder.

A Las Vegas woman found dead

after a fire last week has been identified, the Clark County coroner's office said. Susanne Lesniak, 39, was found Oct. 2 by firefighters in a bedroom destroyed by fire in a home on the 7200 block of Dalegrove Drive, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said last week.