News briefs for Dec. 2, 2002

Monday, Dec. 2, 2002 | 10:54 a.m.

Gunfire from car kills LV man, 18

An 18-year-old Las Vegas man was killed when gunfire erupted in the 1000 block of Hassell Avenue near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Lake Mead Drive about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Metro Police said.

The Clark County coroner's office identified the victim as Billy Ray Clay of Las Vegas.

Another man, 28, was also shot, but suffered a minor flesh wound, Metro Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said.

The wounded man told police he was sitting in a car on Hassell Avenue when another vehicle drove up and a passenger began shooting from the front seat.

Clay was killed as he left a residence, Monahan said.

The shooting is not believed to be gang motivated, Monahan said. Officers believe the incident might be the result of a love triangle.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555 or the Metro Homicide Section at 229-3521.

Fire believed started by lighter

A fire that started in the bedroom of a northwest Las Vegas home was ruled accidental, Las Vegas Fire and Rescue investigators said.

The fire gutted a home at 3752 Bossa Nova Drive near Gowan Road and Buffalo Drive about 10 a.m. on Friday, fire department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

Fire investigators said they believe a 7-year-old boy playing with a lighter on the bed started the fire.

When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting out the windows of an upstairs bedroom. A 63-year-old man who lives in the house was taken to MountainView Hospital after inhaling smoke. No firefighters were injured in the blaze, Szymanski said.

It took about 10 minutes to put the flames out. One bedroom was gutted and two others were heavily damaged by flames, causing an estimated $135,000 loss.

The boy told investigators he was playing with a lighter and dropped it on the bed, which caught fire. He alerted four other family members, who escaped.

The family, who rents the house, was staying with relatives nearby, Szymanski said. The homeowner was out of town at the time of the fire.

Rain still well below normal in LV

While dark clouds brought some welcome showers to Southern Nevada on Saturday, the official rain total was only 0.12 of an inch, the National Weather Service said.

The rainfall didn't put a dent in the drought.

Since Jan. 1, 2002, the Las Vegas Valley has received 1.37 inches of rain, 2.73 inches below the normal 4.10 inches of rain the Las Vegas Valley usually has received by the beginning of December, according to the National Weather Service.

Showers are not expected through the week and temperatures will remain about normal with highs near 60 degrees each day and lows in the lower 40s to upper 30s, forecasters said.

Suspect booked in guard shooting

Metro Police booked a man Sunday on charges of attempted murder in the Nov. 18 shooting of an apartment complex security guard.

William Westry was in custody in the Clark County Detention Center on unrelated charges when detectives in Metro's gang crimes section charged him with attempted murder with a deadly weapon.

Police said Jeanty Bellegarde, who worked for All USA Security, was patrolling the apartment complex when he was shot. His injuries weren't life threatening, police said.

Police said the shooting happened after Bellegarde confronted several people about loitering.

Woman brain dead after being shot

A woman was declared brain dead after she was shot in the face about 1 a.m. Sunday in her home in the 3600 block of Stober Boulevard, near Spring Mountain Road and Decatur Boulevard, Metro Police said.

A man in the home was shot in the thigh, Officer Jose Montoya said.

Acquaintances of the victims came into the home looking for stolen property, then shot the two residents, Montoya said.

The victims' injuries initially appeared to be minor, but Montoya said the woman took a turn for the worse and was declared brain dead Sunday night at University Medical Center.

The names of the victims were not released. Metro Homicide detectives are investigating.

Gibbons moves his local office

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., has moved his Southern Nevada office to a temporary location in the Alan Bible Federal Building.

The move was necessary, Gibbons spokeswoman Amy Spanbauer said, because the old District 2 office at Durango Drive and Charleston Boulevard now is located in the newly created 3rd Congressional District.

Federal rules require a congressman's local office to be located either in the district in which he serves or in a federal building.

Starting Tuesday the new local address for Gibbons will be 600 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Suite 680, Las Vegas NV 89101. Spanbauer said the downtown location is temporary until a permanent location in District 2 can be found sometime next year.

The phone number (702) 255-1651 and fax number (702) 255-1927 are unchanged.