News briefs for August 9, 2002

Friday, Aug. 9, 2002 | 10:58 a.m.

Three teens held in fatal shooting

Three teenagers have been charged in the murder of a teenager in North Las Vegas.

Castaneda Fernando, 18, died at University Medical Center late Wednesday, North Las Vegas police said, after an officer investigating gunshots found him wounded in a car in the 2700 block of Civic Center Drive.

A passenger in the car told the officer that they were driving north on Civic Center when a blue Chevy extended pickup pulled up next to them and people in the pickup made threatening gestures. The truck drove alongside Fernando's vehicle and occupants fired several rounds, police said.

A North Las Vegas officer spotted the suspects' vehicle near Gowan Road and Pecos Avenue. The passenger identified the driver. A weapon believed to have been used in the shooting was also recovered.

The three suspects are Omar Chavez, 18, Victor Cervantes, 19, and Daniel Munez, 19. They are being held at the North Las Vegas Detention Center.

Amnesty program nets $7 million

The five-month tax amnesty program that ended June 30 netted the state an additional $7.3 million, the Nevada Tax Department reported Thursday.

Tax Department spokesman Chuck Chinnock said about 250 businesses paid back taxes but they escaped the interest and penalty.

The program had the support of the Nevada Taxpayers Association, the Nevada Manufacturers Association and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

With the state facing a major deficit, these organizations and others wanted to make sure everyone was paying their fair share.

Gov. Kenny Guinn said the additional benefit from the program "will be the ongoing reporting and collections from those who took advantage of the program." Some businesses were not registered with the department and now will be paying taxes.

The department said collection of unpaid sales tax totaled $2 million; use tax $4.5 million; business tax $161,263; and excise tax $35,536. The use tax is collected on items bought out of state and brought into Nevada for use.

North Las Vegas Police officers

will increase efforts to enforce Nevada's laws on red light violations, seat belt and child passenger laws during a special patrol from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Although Nevada law requires seat belts for all passengers, about 30 percent of drivers don't use their seat belts.