Las Vegas news briefs for December 30, 2002

Monday, Dec. 30, 2002 | 11:14 a.m.

Nellis units get readiness notice

In preparation for a possible war with Iraq, the Pentagon on Friday notified several units at Nellis Air Force base to be ready for deployment overseas.

The Nellis personnel will join thousands of troops who have received orders since Christmas as part of an effort "to support the president's global war on terrorism and prepare for future contingencies as may be directed," Nellis spokeswoman Capt. Kelly Cahalan said.

The Nellis units called include personnel assigned to rescue helicopters and unmanned Predator spy planes, Cahalan said.

Units may deploy at any time.

"It's not going to be tomorrow, but it potentially could be," Cahalan said.

The deployment to undisclosed locations in Southwest Asia will include members of the 66th Rescue Squadron, who operate HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, and pararescue specialists from the 58th Rescue Squadron, Cahalan said.

Planes and personnel from the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron, one of two Nellis Predator units based at the Indian Springs airfield, will also deploy, she said.

Man killed by police officers ID'd

A man who was killed Dec. 26 after a police chase was identified this morning by the Clark County coroner's office as Gary Orozco, 44.

Orozco died from gunshot wounds, the coroner's office said.

Police said they saw Orozco driving erratically near Owens Avenue and Lamb Boulevard and tried to pull him over, but he didn't stop. He crashed into a Metro cruiser, then tried to run the officer over, police said. Two officers fired shots at the vehicle.

Orozco lost control of his vehicle and drove into a nearby yard, hitting a gas meter. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The two officers who fired their weapons have been placed on paid administrative leave, according to department policy. Their names were not immediately available this morning.

Stolen car chased, crashes into wash

A stolen car landed on its roof in a wash near Jones Boulevard and Flamingo Road after a police chase about 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Metro Police said.

Metro Police Officer Jose Montoya said officers spotted a stolen car at Lindell Road and Hacienda Avenue and tried to pull it over. The driver didn't stop, and officers used a tire-deflating device to disable the car.

The driver continued but lost control near Jones and Rochelle Drive, where it flipped into a wash. Both occupantswere treated for minor injuries at the scene and arrested, Montoya said. He did not have names of the two.

Three arrested in robbery, car chase

Three men were arrested Sunday morning after a robbery at a Sav-On drugstore and a pursuit in which police allege the men tried to run over two police officers on motorcycles.

Metro Police Officer Jose Montoya said the robbery took place about 11:10 a.m. at the pharmacy at 8116 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Two men robbed a cashier at gunpoint, then fled in a white Cadillac, he said.

The suspects abandoned their car a short distance away and were picked up by a third man in a 1994 Honda, Montoya said. Police spotted the car and a brief chase ensued.

As the car headed south on Eastern Avenue, the driver swerved into the northbound lanes and tried to hit two Metro officers on motorcycles who were conducting an unrelated traffic stop, Montoya said. No one was injured.

The suspects, whose names were not released this morning, surrendered at Flamingo and Maryland Parkway.

Man slain while working on car

A 47-year-old man was shot to death about 7 p.m. Sunday while working on his car in an apartment complex parking lot at 3200 McLeod Drive, Metro Police said.

The victim, identified this morning by the Clark County coroner's office as David Nawakowski, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses told detectives they heard shots, then saw Nawakowski on his back on the ground in front of the 1993 Mercury he was working on. Witnesses reported seeing two men in their teens or early 20s, dressed in baggy clothing, leaving the scene in a white Dodge Dynasty or Chrysler.

Metro Police Officer Jose Montoya said this morning detectives have not detemined a motive.

Motorcyclist dies while doing stunt

A Las Vegas man died Friday while performing high-speed motorcycle stunts on East Washburn Road in North Las Vegas, police said.

Arthur W. Westcott, 32, struck a streetlight pole in the 2800 block of East Washburn Road, near the Shadow Creek Golf Course, about 5:30 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, police said.

According to police, a man with Westcott was videotaping Westcott as he performed the stunts. The witness said he recorded Westcott making two passes on a 2001 Honda CBR.

Westcott was driving at high speeds with his front wheel in the air. On the third pass Westcott lost control of the motorcycle and crashed, police said.

Man killed in crash is identified

A motorcyclist killed Friday on Interstate 215 was identified by the Clark County coroner's office as 60-year-old Lukas R. Rukavina of Henderson.

Rukavina crashed his three-wheeled motorcycle into a sound wall as he was trying to merge into traffic between Green Valley Parkway and Pecos Road, Nevada Highway Patrol troopers said. Rukavina was not wearing a helmet, investigators said. Riders of three-wheeled motorcycles are not required to wear helmets in Nevada.

Watercraft limits remain in place

Jet Skis and other similar personal watercraft will continue to be allowed in parts of the Lake Mead National Recreational Area through April 10, officials have announced.

The extension allows personal watercraft use on sections of Lakes Mead and Mohave while the National Park Service completes work on a Lake Management Plan.

However, restrictions on personal watercraft use put in place on Sept. 6 will remain in effect for the lakes. Those restrictions include prohibitions on personal watercraft in parts of the lakes and no-wake zones extending 200 feet into the lakes in other sections.