News briefs for August 3, 2001

Friday, Aug. 3, 2001 | 10:16 a.m.

Judge's change in award protested

Lawyers for a man who was awarded $33 million by a Clark County jury in January over a land deal with developer William Peccole have rejected the $5 million judgment the judge offered instead.

A jury in January found that David Stoddart was rightfully entitled to profits from the Queensridge land venture in western Las Vegas.

Stoddart said that in 1992 he was offered a partnership in what became a lucrative 1,100 acre Queensridge project. The development includes a housing development of the same name, several commercial interests, the Badlands golf course and the land on which the Suncoast resort is built.

Lawyers for Peccole Nevada said Peccole hired Stoddart as a consultant. There was no written contract.

Stoddart claimed he was dismissed from the project in 1995 after Peccole's business interests realized millions were to be made.

He filed a lawsuit in 1995 in District Court in Las Vegas against Peccole's estate and a 1982 trust established by Peccole.

Stoddart won the lawsuit after a three-month trial, but according to court documents, District Judge Michael Cherry reduced the award in March saying it was "shocking to the conscience and shows that the jury acted under bias, passion and prejudice."

Stoddart's attorneys asked Cherry on Monday to reconsider his decision and when he declined, they opted to reject the $5 million award and ask for a new trial.

Cherry also set a Jan. 17 trial date regarding counterclaims filed by Peccole Nevada.

Peccole Nevada is suing Stoddart under racketeering statutes claiming he has a habit of convincing developers to make nonbinding deals with him and then claiming half an interest in the project.

Nevada receives $26.1 million

Gov. Kenny Guinn said today that a $26.1 million federal grant will help Nevada reach a goal of having every child read by the third grade.

Nevada is one of 26 states to share in a $280 million federal Reading Excellence Program Act grant.

Guinn said the money will be used for training teachers, tutoring programs, family literacy and transitional programs for kindergarten students.

The grant was announced by Sens. Harry Reid, and John Ensign. Reid, a Democrat, said it would provide children with skills and support they need to learn to read once they enter schools. Ensign, a Republican, said the money will support programs to help students who otherwise might not get the help they need to learn to read.

Stepfather must pay restitution

A 28-year-old Las Vegas man who impregnated his 11-year-old stepdaughter was ordered to pay more than $12,600 in restitution Thursday to cover her medical expenses.

Deputy District Attorney William Kephart said District Judge Jeffrey Sobel ordered the restitution be paid during a brief court hearing Thursday.

The girl underwent a Caesarean section recently and immediately gave the child up for adoption, Kephart said.

The man, whose name is being withheld by the Sun to protect the identity of the child, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the girl in June. He received a life sentence with parole possible after 10 years.

Man sought in California shooting

The Criminal Apprehension Team Thursday arrested a 49-year-old man suspected in a 1994 shooting outside a California bar.

Franco Vasquez Cortes was arrested about 6 a.m. Thursday as he was leaving his home in the 200 block of Linn Lane near Stewart Avenue by the Criminal Apprehension Team -- composed of detectives from Metro, Henderson and North Las Vegas police and agents from the FBI and U.S. Marshal Service.

Cortes, who has been living in Las Vegas for at least a year with his family, had obtained a Nevada driver's license in the name of Rogelio Vazquez, police said.

Two men arrested in Los Angeles

Two men were arrested in Los Angeles last week in connection with a July 10 robbery of a jewelry store in the Bellagio.

Leslie Jerome Moore, 47, and Donald Dwayne Lundy, 42, were charged with receiving stolen property, burglary and resisting arrest, Los Angeles Police said.

Moore and Lundy were arrested July 24 in a jewelry mart and accused of trying to sell items taken from the Fred Leighton's Jewelry store robbery, police said.

A 15,000 Fred Leighton watch was found on one of the two suspects, police said.

A witness told police the day after the arrests, when the two suspects were taken into custody, one of them threw something. Police went back and found a 21-karat diamond ring, with a retail value of about $600,000, underneath a safe, police said.

Play to celebrate 15th anniversary

The Las Vegas Catholic Worker will celebrate its 15th anniversary at Christ the King Catholic Church tonight at 7 p.m. with a one-woman play celebrating the life of founder Dorothy Day.

Day, who died in 1980, co-founded the Catholic Worker newspaper and the Catholic Worker movement, which focuses on providing social services to the poor.

Day will be played by actress Sarah Melici in the play, "Fool For Christ." The play is free. For more information, contact the Las Vegas Catholic Worker at 647-0278.