News briefs for June 8, 2001

Friday, June 8, 2001 | 10:41 a.m.

Plea deal made in brother killing

A Las Vegas man has agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon and serve a six to 15-year prison sentence for the stabbing death of his brother.

Deputy District Attorney Steve Waters said Daniel Raymond Jones, 22, accepted the plea agreement Thursday and will be sentenced by District Judge John McGroarty on July 19.

Steven William Jones, 20, was found dead from an apparent stab wound about 3:45 p.m. April 29 in the 1400 block of Linnbaker Lane, near Lamb Boulevard and Owens Avenue.

Homicide detectives say Jones was arguing with his brother inside their apartment. During the argument Steven was stabbed, and then ran outside where he collapsed, police said.

Trencher bursts natural gas line

A heavy construction trencher hit a gas line at a construction site in southwest Las Vegas Thursday causing a fire and the evacuation of some nearby apartments.

The accident happened about 11 a.m. when the trencher, a tractor-like machine with a large digging blade in front, severed a line at a site near Rainbow Boulevard and Russell Road, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

"We evacuated some apartments and set up some engines just in case something worse happened," Leinbach said.

Southwest Gas employees shut off gas to the line, and firefighters extinguished the flames on the trencher.

Man pleads guilty in strangling

A man has pleaded guilty Thursday to strangling a 44-year-old woman in June 1999.

Michael Jay McCollum told District Judge Valorie Vega that he was guilty but also wanted the court to acknowledge his mental illness.

Several mental evaluations were performed on McCollum in the past, all of them stating that he was incompetent to stand trial. His sentencing for second-degree murder is scheduled July 26.

Dana Rae Rasmussen was found strangled in a car on Desert Foothills Drive near the west end of Sahara Avenue. McCollum and Rasmussen had lived together for about nine years, police said.

Moments before entering his plea, McCollum fretted about what type of housing and vocational training the prison system will offer. Vega pointed out that the pre-sentencing investigation reports were responsible for such issues, and not the court.

Horseplay almost leads to tragedy

A New Jersey man was flown by helicopter to University Medical Center after a near-fatal boating accident about 5 p.m. Wednesday near Boxcar Cove on Lake Mead.

Anthony Sidoti, 25, of Wallington, N.J., suffered several broken bones in his face and severe lacerations when the personal watercraft he was operating was hit by another operated by his girlfriend, Elisa Burkhard, 25, as they splashed each other.

The accident is similar to previous accidents that claimed the lives of two men in separate incidents earlier this year. Both were struck by other craft operated by their girlfriends, said David Pfiffner, game warden supervisor for the Nevada Division of Wildlife.

Investigating officer Victor Gamboa said that reckless operation was the primary cause of Wednesday's accident.

Sidoti may require reconstructive surgery to repair his injuries. Sidoti and Burkhard were both cited for reckless operation of a personal watercraft. Nevada law prohibits operating a craft in a manner that endangers life or property.

Claims of sexual contact probed

Metro Police are investigating an allegation of sexual contact between an inmate and a staff member at a juvenile correctional facility.

The investigation started a couple of weeks ago, before a June 1 standoff involving 19 inmates at the Summit View Youth Correctional Center, the center's staff and Metro Police officers, said Lt. Tom Monahan of Metro's sexual assault unit.

Monahan did not release details of the investigation; he said detectives were still looking into the allegations. No one has been charged in connection with the investigation.

Monahan said he did not believe any of the teens who climbed onto a roof at the facility and created a standoff with police for several hours were involved in the investigation. All of the teens eventually surrendered and face charges because of the standoff.

Summit View Youth Correctional Center is run by a private company for the state and houses 68 teens, officials said.

Appeals court asked for help

Nevada joined several states today in requesting that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to set reasonable rates in the wholesale power markets.

The state Bureau of Consumer Protection joined the petition after electric rates in Nevada jumped 25 percent since September 2000, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said.

By next year the rates could increase by more than 80 percent, Nevada Consumer Advocate Timothy Hay wrote in the petition. Nevada joins the California Legislature, the city of Oakland, as well as other Western states, in making the request.

A significant recession in California could harm Nevada's tourism-based economy, Hay said.

A three-judge panel in the 9th Circuit on May 29 dismissed a previous request; petitioners asked the court to allow all 38 9th Circuit judges to hear the request.