News briefs for Dec. 5, 2003

Friday, Dec. 5, 2003 | 11:11 a.m.

Supreme Court rejects appeal

The Nevada Supreme Court Thursday rejected the appeal of Juan A. Reyes, sentenced to two consecutive life terms with parole for the murder of a man in Clark County in 1993.

Reyes, in his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, maintained he was in New Jersey on July 2 when Mario Tinoco was killed. He said attorney Ralph Baker failed to represent him properly at trial by pushing a theory of self-defense.

Reyes said there were witnesses to show he was out of Nevada when the murder occurred.

But the Supreme Court said Baker checked out those stories and he found nothing to back them up. It said Reyes never objected to the theory of self-defense at the trial.

The court said there was testimony that three people witnessed the shooting of Tinoco and testified that Reyes was the killer.

Car crashes into metal power pole

A Las Vegas man was in critical condition this morning at University Medical Center after driving his 1999 Dodge Intrepid into a metal power pole.

Metro Police believe alcohol and excessive speed were contributing factors in the single vehicle accident. David Manley, 29, was driving eastbound on Flamingo Road about 1:30 a.m. today and missed the stop sign at Hualapai Way.

He drove into the desert area on the south side of Flamingo for several feet until his passenger side hit the power pole.