News briefs for August 1, 2002

Thursday, Aug. 1, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

Convicted killers lose parole bids

Two prison inmates serving life terms for separate murders in Las Vegas have lost their bids for parole.

The state Parole Board said Wednesday it denied parole applications for Calvin Thompson and Eddie Hampton. Both will have to wait for five years before they can re-apply for parole.

State Public Defender Steve McGuire, said Thompson, 34, has a degenerate circulatory ailment and has at best two years to live.

Hampton was one of four young men convicted in the killing of 21-year-old Nellis Air Force Airman John Brown.

Another defendant in the case, Reginald Hayes, had the murder charges dropped against him after serving 13 years in prison. He was pardoned and is now working in Las Vegas.

Hayes appeared at the Pardons Board to testify in support of Hampton, saying Hampton was intimidated by the other two young men in the car. Both of them -- Donald Lee and Phillip Minor -- are serving life terms without the possibility of parole.

Brother sought in woman's death

Metro Police on Wednesday named the brother of a woman found dead in a Dumpster as the suspect in her slaying.

Keri D. McCullough, 36, of Las Vegas was found about 4 p.m. Monday in a Dumpster at an apartment complex in the 5400 block of West Cheyenne Avenue near Michael Way.

Police are searching for Brad McCullough, 49. The brother and sister shared an apartment in the complex, police said.

Brad McCullough was described as a white man, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds. He has long brown hair grown to the middle of his back and he normally ties it into a ponytail. He drives a white Nissan 300ZX with Nevada license plates 260 EBG.

Anyone with information on Brad McCullough's whereabouts is asked to call Metro's homicide unit at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Firefighters get federal grant

The Henderson Fire Department has won a $166,600 matching federal grant to buy new firefighting equipment, Sen. Harry Reid, Rep. Shelley Berkley and Rep. Jim Gibbons have announced.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Fire Administration awarded the grant as part of $450 million in federal funds appropriated by Congress for 2002-2003.

Henderson and the Gerlach Volunteer Fire Department are the first in the state to receive grants, which are still being awarded.

Henderson matched the federal grant with $71,400 to purchase 160 new masks with radio implants and three thermal imagers at $10,000 each. The radio-adapted masks improve communication, said Michael Cyphers, emergency management coordinator for the city, and imagers allow firefighters to pinpoint a body's warmth in a smoke-filled room.

Without the grant, the city would have taken at least seven years to purchase the masks, Cyphers said. In the meantime, they would be speaking through masks into handheld radios, which comes out sounding "very garbled," Cyphers said.

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