Local news briefs for January 31, 2001

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2001 | 11:25 a.m.

Las Vegan, 20, arrested in killing

A 20-year-old Las Vegas man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the stabbing death of a local man over the weekend.

Joseph Young was booked into the Clark County jail on a murder charge. Young is accused of the Sunday stabbing death of George M. Thomas, 23, of Las Vegas, at an apartment complex in the 3700 block of Carlyle Drive, near Las Vegas Boulevard North and Cheyenne Avenue, Metro Police said.

Young was stopped by an officer a short distance from the scene and just a couple of minutes after the slaying occurred. He was arrested on outstanding traffic warrants, Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro's homicide unit said.

Young was rebooked Tuesday on the murder charge.

Autopsy finds no trauma

An autopsy has revealed that a woman found dead in a burning house near downtown Las Vegas Monday did not suffer apparent trauma before she died.

Metro Police homicide detectives and Las Vegas Fire Department investigators will now wait for a toxicology report on the 29-year-old victim.

The fire broke out at 10:40 p.m. at 1619 Harly Way, near Bruce Street and Stewart Avenue, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

The fire was out within five minutes of the arrival of fire crews, but once inside the home firefighters discovered the victim dead on the bathroom floor.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and the name of the woman had not been released this morning.

Coroner questions family's pathologist

An independent forensic pathologist didn't have the facts to allow Philippe Le Menn's family to declare the French citizen was beaten to death in jail, the Clark County coroner said Tuesday.

"I'm not sure how their pathologist could reach that conclusion," Coroner Ron Flud said after Le Menn's family and their lawyer on Monday released what they called preliminary findings from Dr. Miles Jones, of Kansas City, Mo.

"Their pathologist has not seen the material that we have nor has he looked at the specimens," Flud said.

Flud said he expects within a week to issue his ruling on the official cause of Le Menn's Jan. 4 death.

Final tissue and blood analyses will help show the cause of death, the coroner said. Flud said he also is awaiting a police investigative report about the circumstances and manner of Le Menn's death.

County hires retrieval company

A new plan to round up abandoned shopping carts was announced on Monday.

The strategy to deal with cart pile-ups on county streets involves bringing in a nonprofit company from California that specializes in rounding up abandoned carts, County Commissioner Erin Kenny said.

California Shopping Cart Retrieval Corp. will contract with members of the Retail Association of Nevada to retrieve carts.

After the company has been notified of an abandoned cart, it guarantees that it will be picked up within 48 hours.

Kenny hopes the partnership will improve the effectiveness of the shopping cart hotline that was implemented in 1998.

The hotline is 593-CART.

Pilot loses flying rights

The Federal Aviation Administration has revoked the flying rights of a former Northwest Airlines pilot from Las Vegas who was fired after failing two Breathalyzer tests given shortly after a Jan. 18 flight.

Northwest administered its first alcohol test on First Officer Timothy McCourt about two hours after Flight 1047 arrived safely in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with 59 passengers, the FAA said.

A second test was administered about 15 minutes later. The FAA used the blood-alcohol test results of 0.056 percent on the first test and 0.043 percent on the second test to rule that McCourt violated federal aviation regulations.

The regulatory limit for pilots of civil airplanes is 0.040 percent.

Continuing construction

on the $35 million Interstate 15 Freeway Channel project will close the I-15 southbound off-ramp to Charleston Boulevard starting Friday night. The off-ramp is scheduled to close at 7 p.m. Friday, and should reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, city of Las Vegas Public Works officials said. Lane closures and delays on Charleston near I-15 can be expected for the next three months.