News briefs for January 31, 2002

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002 | 9:24 a.m.

Teen killed in accident

A Las Vegas teen killed in a one-car accident Tuesday has been identified as 16-year-old Steven Sanchez.

Sanchez died when the Jeep Cherokee he was driving, which had been reported stolen, went off the road on Euclid Street near Patrick Lane about 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Clues sought in women's death

Metro Police homicide detectives are asking for the public's help in the year-old killing of a 20-year-old Henderson woman found dead in an eastern Las Vegas desert area.

Gina Holliday was found with her hands tied and multiple gunshot wounds southeast of Sahara Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard on Feb. 1, 2001, homicide unit Sgt. Kevin Manning said.

No significant leads have been developed in the case, Manning said.

Holliday was last seen by her 2-year-old son's father when she dropped the child off for a visit. Holliday was driving a green, 1986 Cadillac when she dropped off her son. The car was later recovered at an apartment complex near Lake Mead and Lamb boulevards.

The Cadillac was found stripped of the tires and stereo system, police said.

Anyone with information about Holliday is asked to call police at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Nevada man charged in crash

A 27-year-old Nevada man has been charged with driving at excessive speeds and unsafe lane change in a Tuesday night accident on Interstate 15 that killed a California woman.

Ruel Layam of Jean could face additional charges once an investigation into the two-car accident just north of Primm is completed, Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Trooper Alan Davidson said.

Layam was headed southbound in a Ford station wagon about 5 p.m., when his car hit a Ford Explorer driven by a 69-year-old Geraldine Ann Wood-Higgs of Van Nuys, Calif., Davidson said.

"Witnesses said that the driver of the station wagon was driving erratically and sideswiped the Explorer," Davidson said.

After colliding, both vehicles careened into the center median and rolled, Davidson said.

The driver of the Explorer died at the scene, and a passenger in the Explorer was critically injured and remains at University Medical Center.

Layam told authorities that he suffered back injuries, Davidson said.

Movie theater is evacuated

A small explosive device disrupted moviegoers at the Regal Cinemas at Eastern Avenue and Pebble Road about 3:50 p.m. Wednesday, Metro Police said.

No one was injured. A Nevada Power Co. security guard reported the explosion to police. The theater and a pizza restaurant were evacuated.

Police cordoned off the area, including Pebble Road between Eastern and Pecos Road, while bomb-sniffing dogs confirmed that the device was a man-made explosive.

Metro Police is continuing its investigation into the incident.

Students return to classes

Pahrump Valley High School students returned to class Wednesday after they had been evacuated because of health concerns from mold found in the building on Jan. 23.

No students were allowed inside the main high school building. Instead, classes were moved to the Community College of Southern Nevada, in the band room of Hafen Elementary School and in 16 modular classrooms behind the high school.

School officials believe heavy rains that flooded the eastern end of the high school last fall and a water pipe that burst a few weeks later caused the mold. Tests of the mold indicated it is Stachybotrys chartarum, which can cause health problems.

Four men face federal charges

Four men were indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on charges they conspired to produce counterfeit Social Security cards and immigration documents.

The nine-count indictment accuses Ricardo Martinez, Jesus Celis, Luis Alba-Hernandez and Mario Ayala of creating various forms of false identification documents and selling them at a Las Vegas swap meet.