Court briefs for November 27, 2001

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2001 | 9:44 a.m.

Bail reduced for Panaca woman

Bail for an 18-year-old Panaca woman accused of killing and mutilating a Las Vegas man was reduced to $50,000 Monday after her trial was delayed for a third time.

Kirstin Lobato's original bail had been set at $250,000. Should Lobato be released from the Clark County Detention Center, she will be placed on house arrest in the home of Henderson friends.

Lobato faces an open murder charge in the July 8 death of Duran Bailey, 44.

Lobato told police that Bailey attacked her, and she mutilated him as he was trying to sexually assault her.

She was arrested on a murder charge, however, because an autopsy revealed Bailey died of a fractured skull and severed carotid artery.

The trial was originally postponed because the defense was not ready. The last two postponements were requested by prosecutors because of problems with witness availability.

Lobato's trial is expected to start Dec. 5.

Man sentenced in accident

A man on the run for 17 years after a 1983 accident on Interstate 15 that injured an Air Force officer was sentenced Monday.

Jose Rojas Salazar received a one-year sentence with the possibility for probation after four months for leaving the scene of an accident, Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said.

He was scheduled to be arraigned today on a separate charge of failure to appear, which carries a 12- to 30-month sentence, Booker said.

In September 1983 Salazar's vehicle struck Air Force Maj. John Robinson, who was standing outside his parked car alongside I-15 about 27 miles south of Las Vegas. Robinson had two-thirds of his spleen removed.

Salazar fled the scene, but the California Highway Patrol spotted him about 50 miles south of the accident -- driving on the wrong side of the road. He was arrested after a high-speed chase and tested above the legal limit for blood/alcohol level.

Salazar was released on $2,500 bail and was scheduled for sentencing April 19, 1984, but he never appeared. He had pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident in exchange for the dismissal of a DUI charge.

Salazar was arrested in California about two months ago after police received a tip regarding his whereabouts.

Riegle appointed to another term

Linda B. Riegle, who served as a federal bankruptcy judge since 1988, was reappointed Monday to another 14-year term.

She will maintain her chambers in Las Vegas and begins her new appointment Jan. 11.

There are 68 judges in the nine Western states that handle bankruptcy-related matters under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Judges earn a salary of $133,492 and are selected on merit.

Riegle was chief bankruptcy judge of the District of Nevada from 1993 to 1999, and has served as chairwoman of the Conference of Chief Bankruptcy Judges.