Local news briefs for January 24, 2001

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2001 | 11:28 a.m.

Motorist found shot to death

A man was found shot to death behind the wheel of a car that crashed into a block wall Tuesday night.

The man, whose name was not released this morning, was seen by a person running a red traffic light in the 6500 block of Smoke Ranch Road at Torrey Pines Drive about 9 p.m. The car then crashed into the wall, Metro Police said.

Minutes before the car crashed into the wall, another person called police reporting hearing gunshots in the 2300 block of El Molino Circle -- around the corner from where the man was found dead, police said.

No one else was found in the car, and there were several bullet holes in the driver's, police said. The car is registered to a woman, who was not located Tuesday night, police said.

Police have not been able to find anyone who saw the shooting and there is no known motive or suspect information, police said.

Anyone who has information in this case is asked to call Metro's homicide unit at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Probe launched into private group

The city of Las Vegas Department of Detention and Enforcement is conducting an internal inquiry into the Animal Foundation Inc., which runs the city pound, city officials said.

The enforcement department, which oversees the pound operation, will be looking into a number of issues, including whether employees euthanized animals before the 72-hour impound hold had passed, city spokeswoman Andrea Smith said today.

"We have had a few complaints," Smith said.

The inquiry, Smith said, could result in an audit of records of the private organization that in the mid-1990s was contracted to run the city pound, where hundreds of stray animals are brought daily.

The investigation comes at a time when the Animal Foundation is preparing for the Feb. 8 grand opening ceremony for its new shelter at 655 N. Mojave Road, across the street from the current pound.

Out-of-state lawyers approved

The Nevada Supreme Court Tuesday allowed Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa to hire out-of-state lawyers who have not yet passed the state bar examination as deputies, in an attempt to solve the turnover problems in her office.

The court said if lawyers are licensed in another state, they can practice law in Nevada as deputy attorneys general but must limit the practice to the state's cases. They also must pass the bar within two years.