News briefs for May 24, 2001

Thursday, May 24, 2001 | 11:23 a.m.

Deputy parole chief named for Las Vegas

Amy Wright, who has worked for the state Parole and Probation Division since 1985, has been named deputy chief in the Las Vegas region.

The appointment was announced Wednesday by Warren Lutzow, chief of the division.

Wright was district administrator for the region, which handles 60 percent of the state's cases.

She developed a partnership with a federal team to find and arrest high-risk parole and probation violators and worked on a program to provide support services for prison inmates when they are released into the community.

Wright also helped in starting a drug court release program for prison inmates.

Former principal appears in court

A Baptist school principal who set off on a cross-country odyssey with an 11-year-old student appeared briefly before a magistrate Thursday during his initial federal court appearance.

William A. "Andy" Beith's appearance before U.S. Magistrate Andrew Rodovich lasted less than five minutes as his attorneys waived the reading of the charges against him and the reading of his constitutional rights.

Beith, 29, of Burns Harbor faces federal charges of coercing and enticing a minor into sexual acts and transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Berkowitz said the government will request that a June 12 detention hearing be closed to the public and media. She declined to elaborate.

Defense attorney Nick Thiros said he will ask that his client be released on bond.

Henderson teenager killed in two-vehicle crash

A 16-year-old sophomore at Green Valley High School died in a two-vehicle accident in Henderson early Sunday.

A tractor-trailer truck collided with a car driven by a teenage boy with five teenage passengers at Green Valley Parkway and Robindale Road about 12:50 a.m. Sunday. A passenger, Ryan A. Horky, died at the scene, Henderson Police said.

Another passenger was taken to University Medical Center with a broken pelvis, police said. One other boy had minor injuries. The driver of the car and other passengers and the truck driver were not injured, police said.

The teens were on Robindale Road turning on to Green Valley Parkway. The truck was on Green Valley Parkway at the time of the accident. There is a stoplight at the intersection, but police are still investigating to determine who was at fault.

Anyone with information in this accident is asked to call Henderson Police at 565-8933 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.