Local news briefs for January 29, 2001

Monday, Jan. 29, 2001 | 10:35 a.m.

Man discovered shot to death

A Las Vegas man was found dead Saturday from apparent gunshot wounds on State Route 170 near Mesquite about 80 miles north of Las Vegas.

The body of Jose Ascension Adame was found about 1.8 miles south of exit 112 off Interstate 15, Metro Police homicide detectives said.

Detectives have no motive or witnesses.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

People seen running from scene

A 23-year-old man stabbed to death Sunday morning was found on the sidewalk in front of an apartment building near Las Vegas Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue.

Police arrived at the apartment building in the 3700 block of Carlyle Drive about 12:45 a.m. The victim, George Thomas of Las Vegas, was taken to University Medical Center, where he died from his wounds at 1:20 a.m.

Residents at the apartment complex reported hearing a disturbance and saw people running from the area where Thomas was found, Metro police homicide detectives said.

Anyone with any information is asked to call 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Car drifts into oncoming traffic

Metro Police are investigating a fatal accident caused by a car traveling into oncoming traffic.

The accident occurred about 7:30 p.m. Saturday on Decatur Boulevard north of Rochelle Avenue, when a 1995 Nissan headed north on Decatur drifted into southbound lanes.

The Nissan collided with a 1986 Honda, and another car headed south sideswiped the Honda as the driver tried to avoid the accident.

A 78-year-old passenger in the Nissan, Rohafza Nasseri of Las Vegas, died at the scene, police said.

The accident was the sixth traffic-related fatality in Metro's jurisdiction this year.

Jolley becomes a deputy chief

Greg Jolley, a 32-year Metro Police veteran, has been promoted from captain to deputy chief of detention services.

Jolley replaces Deputy Chief Mike Hawkins, a 29-year veteran who oversees the Special Operations Division and is retiring.

Jolley joined the department in 1968 and has the distinction of being part of the department's first undercover narcotics program.

In other organizational changes, Capt. Dennis Cobb will now command the Crimes Against Persons Bureau, and Lt. Frank Sutton has been promoted to captain of the Southeast Area Command.

Candidates miss reporting deadline

Secretary of State Dean Heller has notified two Clark County political candidates they must pay a fine of $175 for late filing of their final campaign expense report.

The notices, sent Friday, went to Marv C. Iverson, who was an unopposed candidate for the state Board of Education, and to Craig Jorgenson, who tried to run for judge in the Fifth Judicial District in central Nevada. Jorgenson's name was removed from the ballot because he did not live in the district composed of Nye, Esmeralda and Mineral counties.

Other candidates notified they owed $175 were Robert Glennen and Keith Marley, both of Pahrump.

The names of those who fail to pay the fines are turned over to the state attorney general's office for possible legal action.

Nevada numbers increase in 2000

Fire deaths in Nevada rose by 21 percent last year, and 70 percent of those who died were in Clark County, the state fire marshal's office reported Thursday.

Deputy State Fire Marshal Dennis Ely said fire took the lives of 28 people in 2000, up from 22 in 1999. There were 20 deaths in Clark County.

Ely said the breakdown shows three deaths were in Las Vegas, five in North Las Vegas, one in Boulder City, one in Henderson and 10 in unincorporated Clark County.

State system gets settlement money

The Nevada Public Employees Retirement system has received a check for $101,854 from a settlement paid by stock market dealers who were accused of increasing and fixing the prices paid by investors for the purchase and sale of securities.

The state attorney general's office said Thursday the money is the result of the part played by its Bureau of Consumer Protection in a multistate investigation of various stock market dealers. The investigation found investors pay excessive transaction costs.

The retirement system is the largest state agency to invest in the stock market.