Local news briefs for January 4, 2001

Thursday, Jan. 4, 2001 | 11 a.m.

Boy, 13, ordered to serve time

A 13-year-old Yerington boy convicted of cutting the eyes out of a dog was ordered Wednesday to serve an indefinite term in a state facility for juvenile delinquents.

The sentence also requires the boy to receive counseling and write a letter of apology to owners of the yellow Labrador retriever. The dog had to be euthanized after it was found wandering blind last April.

The attack shocked the small agricultural community 80 miles southeast of Reno and prompted reward offers of up to $5,000 for information leading to a conviction.

Prosecutor John Schlegelmilch said the boy's time in custody will depend on how well he responds to counseling.

Students receive one year probation

The last of 11 Mojave High School students charged in the kidnap and torture of Centennial High School's mascot were sentenced to a year of probation Wednesday.

Family Court Judge Cynthia Dianne Steel also sentenced the boys to 200 hours of community service and $100 in restitution. She also ordered the boys to write a letter of apology and give up primary custody of any dogs they may own for one year.

The boys were part of the group that, according to police, stole Blu, an English bulldog, on Sept. 27. The dog was forced to fight a pit bull, then staked on the 50-yard line of Centennial's football field.

Three other boys who played a similar role were given seven days in the juvenile detention center, including Christmas, by District Judge Robert Gaston, who was replaced this week by Steel.

The owner of the pit bull received two days in jail and 60 days of house arrest.

25-year prison term handed down

A Marine convicted of sexually assaulting a Las Vegas woman during Clark County's first date-rape drug trial was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday.

Lance Cpl. Raymond Flores, who now faces a court-martial, will have to serve at least 10 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

District Judge Kathy Hardcastle denied a defense request to grant Flores his freedom pending an appeal, and he was taken into custody.

Flores, 22, was accused of slipping the date-rape drug GHB into the drink of a 32-year-old mother of three at the Beach nightclub on Aug. 14, 1999.

Blaze starts in alarm store

North Las Vegas Fire Department officials are investigating a blaze that started in a strip mall Wednesday night.

The fire started about 8:15 p.m. inside the attic of a security alarm store in the 3200 block of Civic Center Drive near Cheyenne Avenue.

A second alarm was called, and extra engines arrived on the scene because the fire was in a strip mall, Deputy Chief Jim Stubler said.

Fire walls in the building stopped the blaze from spreading to other businesses, but that didn't stop the smoke from causing damage to a barber shop and other stores.