News briefs for May 9, 2001

Wednesday, May 9, 2001 | 10:37 a.m.

Slaying suspect in Arizona jail

A man in an Arizona jail is awaiting extradition to Las Vegas in the April slaying of a 57-year-old man in the Laughlin area, Metro Police said.

A warrant is on file charging Gregory Amato, 36, with murder, robbery and other crimes in connection with the April 26 slaying of Jimmie Dee Ingle, police said.

Amato was arrested in Bullhead City, Ariz., April 28 and charged locally in connection with having the slain man's credit cards. Amato is being held in the Mohave County jail pending extradition, police said.

Ingle was found just west of the Laughlin area near the town's water tower by a jogger, police said. Ingle died from blows on the head.

Three protesters arrested

Three anti-nuclear demonstrators were arrested at 6 a.m. Monday for trespassing on the Nevada Test Site after they attempted to block an entrance road.

The demonstrators and two other activists were participating in a prayer vigil in preparation for a Mother's Day protest, Department of Energy spokesman Kevin Rohrer said.

Wackenhut Security guards and Nye County sheriff's deputies arrested the trio as they tried to stop government workers from going to their jobs. They were cited for trespassing and then released, Rohrer said.

The Nevada Desert Experience and Shundahai Network have continued protesting activities at the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Nevadans want more wilderness

An overwhelming majority of Las Vegas residents favor designating additional wilderness areas in Nevada, according to a Pew Wilderness Center poll.

The poll, conducted by Robinson Muenster and Associates, showed 58 percent of those polled strongly or somewhat strongly favor designating more wilderness in Nevada. Only 19 percent of Southern Nevadans opposed designating additional wilderness.

The Bush Administration on Friday signaled its intent to revise a two-year effort by the U.S. Forest Service under President Clinton to form a new policy not to build roads in national forests where they do not currently exist.

The Pew Wilderness Center recently unveiled an advertising campaign in 10 cities, including Las Vegas, to bring attention to the issue of protecting public lands from timber and petroleum development.

Squires School nationally honored

C.P. Squires Elementary School in North Las Vegas received national recognition for its implementation of the Lightspan Achieve Now CD program and other practices designed to boost student achievement.

Squires Elementary was selected among 28 schools nationally as a model school for its use of the program classrooms, learning centers, extended day programs, English as a Second Language programs and in students' homes.

The CDs can be used either on personal computers or Sony Playstations with a regular television set.

As a result, students are spending an additional 30 minutes to three hours per day on educational programs at home.

Bourbon Street cage held up

Metro Police have arrested a man following the Tuesday afternoon robbery of the casino cage at the Bourbon Street hotel.

Arthur Devine, 47, of Las Vegas was arrested by Metro robbery detectives and charged with one count of robbery, police said.

Devine is also a suspect in a number of other robberies in southeast and southwest Las Vegas, police said.

Alternative to traffic sought

Most Americans believe that mass transit is the best way to beat traffic congestion, a survey commissioned by the National Society of Professional Engineers found.

The survey results were released after studies this week found that Las Vegas ranked ninth nationally for overall congestion among 68 U.S. cities and second-worst among those cities for a combination of bad traffic and few mass-transit alternatives. Los Angeles was the worst on both indexes.

Just under half the respondents to the NSPE survey favor increased availability of mass transit. One-third of Americans propose investing more money in roads and highways.

Transportation officials in the Las Vegas region say they are trying to fulfill both needs: better roads and more mass transit.

Event to be held Monday

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and City Councilman Lawrence Weekly will join celebrities in a fund-raiser for the local branch of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The fund-raiser will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at Planet Hollywood in the Forum Shops at Caesars.

Tickets are $50 each or $300 for a table of six. Contact Deann Cline at 436-4220 for more information.

Benefit planned at Fiesta hotel

Las Vegas Councilman Michael Mack and Station Casinos have teamed to bring children's recording artist Joe Scruggs to the Fiesta hotel to raise money for the Nevada Children's Center.

Scruggs will play at 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children under 12 and can be purchased through tickets.com, any Station Casinos Boarding Pass Rewards Center or the Amigo Club inside the Fiesta.

The Nevada Children's Center is a nonprofit facility providing services and meeting the needs of Southern Nevada's less-fortunate children and their families.

Driver of suspect car calls police

The driver of a car that police say was involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident contacted Henderson Police Tuesday and is cooperating with investigators, they said.

Walter Watkins, 58, was struck and killed on Sunset Road at Middlegate Road about 9:30 p.m. Monday, police said.

The driver, whose name was not released, has not been charged in connection with the accident, police said.

Police impounded a red, 2000 Kia they say was involved in Monday night's fatal hit-and-run. The car was found in the parking lot of the Sterling Court Apartments, 5500 Mountain Vista St., about 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call police at 565-8933 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Man found at apartment building

Metro Police are investigating the shooting death of a man found in West Las Vegas this morning.

A man was found dead on a second-floor landing in an apartment complex on Monroe Avenue near D Street about 6:30 a.m., said Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro's homicide unit.

Detectives are trying to determine if the man's death is related to the reported shooting earlier in the area of Jackson Avenue and F Street, Petersen said.

The name of the man was not released this morning, pending positive identification and notification of his family.

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

Victim found dead in kitchen

Metro Police are investigating the death Tuesday of a 64-year-old woman as an apparent homicide.

Las Vegas firefighters were called to an apartment complex on Simmons Street near West Lake Mead Boulevard about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday and found a woman dead on the floor of the kitchen. She was severely burned. However, the fire was contained to the floor around the woman, police said.

An autopsy scheduled for today should determine the cause of death of Song Magliari, said Lt. Wayne Petersen of Metro's homicide unit.

Rep. Shelley Berkley,

D-Nev., can now be reached on her new website (www.house.gov/berkley). The site features a scrolling text box and an e-mail function for constituents to write to the congresswoman.

Nevada drew a record

49.5 million visitors in 2000, a gain of 2.2 million over the previous year, state officials said.

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