News briefs for April 23, 2001

Monday, April 23, 2001 | 11:08 a.m.

Police seek clues to gunman's ID

Metro Police robbery detectives are asking for the public's help in finding a suspect in a string of home invasion robberies.

The suspect is responsible for at least eight robberies in the area of Warm Springs Road and Eastern Avenue, near the Henderson city limits, police said.

Police said the robber confronts victims in their garages or driveways, or enters through an unlocked door, and then he demands cash and ransacks the home.

The gunman is described as black, with a light complexion, is between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall and has a stocky build. He is armed with a large caliber handgun, and was last seen wearing a dark colored sweat shirt with a hood, a white beanie, dark pants and black tennis shoes.

Anyone with information about the identity of the man is asked to call police at 229-3591 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Award enlarged for Calif. victim

The family of a Yosemite, Calif., man who suffered severe brain damage after boxes of toy trucks and train sets fell on him at a Wal-Mart received a $4.9 million judgment on Thursday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 1997 decision by U.S. District Judge Philip Pro, but the appeals court eventually ordered Pro to award additional damages.

Todd Caranto and his wife had been awarded $4 million, and with the new judgment, the amount climbs to nearly $9 million.

Woman arrested in man's death

Metro Police arrested Carolyn Collette and charged her with murder with a deadly weapon after finding a 39-year-old man shot to death in the dining room and kitchen area of Collette's home Sunday morning.

Police responded to Collette's home in the 2600 block of Arenas Street, near Sahara Avenue and Valley View Boulevard, about 12:30 a.m. after reports of gunshots.

Wheel of Fortune shines on visitor

A Cypress, Calif., man is $5.1 million richer after hitting a jackpot at Paris Las Vegas over the weekend.

Jim Fowler won his jackpot on a Wheel of Fortune progressive machine that paid him almost $2,000 on a previous visit.

He had played about $100 in 20 minutes on the dollar machine Friday night before he hit the jackpot, said Connie Fox of International Game Technology, the company that operates the progressive jackpot system.

Tax bill passes on another try

A bill defeated on Thursday has been resurrected and passed by the state Senate to allow counties to raise the real estate transfer tax to finance programs to fight and remove such pests as Africanized honey bees and fire ants.

Senate Bill 468 was defeated Thursday, 11-9, because it did not have the three-fourths vote necessary to pass a tax bill. But it was revived on Friday and approved 18-2.