New briefs for December 29, 2003

Monday, Dec. 29, 2003 | 11:20 a.m.

Woman shot, killed in motel room

Metro Police are investigating the shooting death of a woman who was found dead in a room at a Fremont Street motel about 2 a.m. today.

Police were called to the La Palma motel at 2512 E. Fremont St. regarding gunshots, and when they arrived, they found the dead woman, Sgt. Rocky Alby said.

Her name had not been released this morning. She appeared to be 25 to 30 years of age, police said.

Witnesses at the scene said they saw four men leave the room, and police are searching for those men, Alby said.

Anyone with information about the shooting can call the homicide section at 229-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555. Crime Stoppers tipsters may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.

Nellis sergeant dies in Texas crash

An Air Force staff sergeant based at Nellis Air Force Base died Friday in El Paso, Texas, when he wrecked and was ejected from the sport utility truck he was driving, El Paso police said.

Daniel Jesus Herrera, 26, was a member of the 57th Maintenance Operations Squadron at Nellis. He trained others how to loan weapons on F-15 Eagle fighter planes, a base spokesman said.

According to El Paso police, at 10:35 p.m. Friday Herrera was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Blazer down a U.S. 54 off-ramp when he came to a fork in the road and went onto the dirt between the two roads ahead of him.

The Blazer hit a road sign -- possibly one that notified drivers of the fork or a sharp curve, police said -- and then rolled. Herrera was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle, police said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, police said.

Speed is believed to the primary factor in the accident, which is still under investigation, El Paso police spokeswoman Camille Salcido said.

Herrera was single and had no dependents in the Las Vegas area, Nellis Spokesman Staff Sgt. Shane Sharp said.

Salcido said Herrera might have been in the El Paso area to visit family. His father lives about 30 miles from El Paso in New Mexico, she said.

Service members can dump leases

President Bush has signed a bill that allows military members to cancel car or residential leases if called to active duty or deployed overseas.

In the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, military members can terminate car lease contracts if called to active duty or deployed for 180 days or more and cancel residential leases if called for at least 90 days. Both provisions also apply if ordered to permanently move outside the United States.

Nevada Republican Rep. Jim Gibbons introduced legislation earlier this year that also would have relieved military members from cell phone, cable or Internet contracts and home purchases within if assigned for military service for more than 90 days.

"I will continue to fight to provide our troops and their families with fair relief from contracts, especially telecommunications contracts, if they are called to duty," Gibbons said in a statement. "It is the least we can do for the brave young men and women risking their lives for us."

Fire destroys LV apartment

Three adult apartment dwellers are homeless after a fire started in a wall heater about 3:20 a.m. Sunday, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

Firefighters saw flames and smoke from a second story apartment of the three-story Sunflower Apartments at 1500 Fremont St., Szymanski said.

Firefighters put the fire out in less than five minutes after evacuating several apartments. No one was injured.

The fire caused an estimated $5,000 in damages.

One of the apartment residents said he turned on a wall heater and within minutes it burst into flames.

The fire consumed personal items in the small one-room unit, Szymanski said.

Fire investigators listed the fire as undetermined, because they could not rule out careless smoking as a possible cause.

The American Red Cross assisted the three occupants with temporary housing and personal belongings.

29 degrees sets record

If you thought it was cold Saturday night, you were right.

The thermometer hit 29 degrees, the coldest it's been since a 30-degree reading was recorded on Feb. 8, the National Weather Service said.

Sunday's high of 45 degrees in the Las Vegas Valley was 11 degrees below the average daytime temperature of 56 degrees.

A low of about 30 degrees was expected early this morning, Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Schlott said.

"Our normal lows are in the 30s so we're not far from normal," Schlott said of the freezing temperatures.

As the next winter storm pushes into the West, daytime highs could warm up into the 50s, Schlott said. After a chance of rain on Tuesday, things should remain dry until Friday, when there is another chance for rain in the valley.