Las Vegas news briefs April 16, 2003

Wednesday, April 16, 2003 | 11:05 a.m.

Man found shot to death

A 22-year-old man was shot and killed about 11 p.m. Tuesday in an apartment in the 2200 block of North Rancho Drive, Metro Police said.

Witnesses told homicide detectives that they heard a disturbance coming from the apartment, then they heard gunshots, police said. The witnesses said they saw three men running from the apartment. One was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, police said.

The identity of the victim has not been released, pending family notification.

Anyone with information is asked to call the homicide section at 229-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered.

Identity sought of stabbing victim

Metro Police are trying to identify an Asian woman found stabbed to death in an alley behind an apartment complex in the 800 block of South Third Street about 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

A resident returning to the apartments discovered the body, police said.

The victim is described as in her early 20s, 5 feet tall, weighing about 100 pounds.

She has some faint tattoos on the first three fingers of her right hand. The tattoos may be Asian lettering.

The woman had long, black hair in a pony tail secured by a red tie. She was wearing a black tank top with spaghetti straps, blue jeans with a yellow, multi-colored Asian print shirt and white Nike running shoes.

Anyone with information is urged to call Metro Police Homicide Section at 229-3521. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call CrimeStoppers at 385-5555. Anyone with information may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

Party leader goes to court

The president of the Independent American Party asked a judge on Tuesday to dismiss a petition by the state Ethics Commission.

The petition asks for a judicial interpretation of the law regarding the financial disclosure statements of the party's candidates in last year's elections.

Joel Hansen, a Las Vegas attorney and party president, told District Judge Bill Maddox he believes 26 IAP candidates complied with state law when they submitted their financial disclosure statements, but did so without listing any information about their finances.

Some of the candidates argued they were asserting their constitutional rights against self-incrimination.

The commission could not reach a decision on whether to impose more than $6,000 in fines against the candidates, so it turned to the court.

Maddox allowed each side to submit additional briefs with a deadline of May 12 and said he would rule on the issue at a later date.

Florida feds take no action in case

Officials with the U.S. attorney's office in Tampa, Fla., decided Tuesday not to appeal the release of a Las Vegas man charged with attempting to entice and transport a juvenile across state lines for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual activity.

Raymond Buehler, 46, was charged in the case Monday and released under the supervision of pre-trial services by U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leavitt.

A court date in Tampa has not yet been set. Buehler, who has lived in Las Vegas since 1963, is facing allegations that he invited a 15-year-old girl he met online -- who turned out to be an FBI agent working undercover -- to Las Vegas to be his sex slave.

Buehler was arrested at the bus station when he went there to pick up the "girl."

Meth supply line broken up

U.S. and Canadian officials said Tuesday they had disrupted a major methamphetamine supply system through an investigation that netted 67 arrests and tons of illegal chemicals.

Among those charged were alleged operators of illicit labs in areas around Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles, authorities said.

Many of the alleged brokers, money launderers and go-betweens were of Middle Eastern origin, including one New York man -- grocery store owner Alaa Odeh -- whose uncle was recently arrested in Israel's West Bank on charges of being a member of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group. Much of the money was funneled to Amman, Jordan, and the West Bank cities of Nablus and Ramallah.

Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, said no charges directly involved terrorism but the investigation would continue into the money trail.

The 18-month investigation, dubbed "Operation North Star," centered on the shipment of pseudoephedrine from three Canadian companies to large illicit labs in the Southwest.