News briefs for December 30, 2003

Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003 | 9:23 a.m.

Bail granted in drive-by killings

A man charged in connection with an Aug. 7, 2002, drive-by shooting that left two people dead has been granted bail.

Chester Lee Henry was granted a combined bail of $300,000 Monday on two counts of murder and five other felony counts after his attorney David Shieck argued before District Judge Kathy Hardcastle that his client has not been identified by witnesses as having shot anyone.

In April, Hardcastle refused Shieck's motion to dismiss murder charges against Henry, one of three men charged in a double slaying.

The charges stem from the drive-by shooting deaths of Thomas Sterling and Reginald Slaughter near Martin Luther King and Lake Mead boulevards. Henry's co-defendants, Lawrence Doyle and Darrin Lay, face similar charges that include attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon with intent to promote a criminal gang and possession of a firearm by ex-felons.

Hardcastle had previously granted Shieck's motion to separate Henry's trial from his co-defendants' joint trial. Henry's trial is set to begin Feb. 17.

Alcohol may have been factor

Authorities have released more information about the Saturday night traffic accident that killed a 21-year-old Las Vegas man at the West Charleston Boulevard off-ramp on Interstate 15.

Trooper Angie Wolff said Raul Marquez, 20, of Las Vegas flipped his blue 1985 Mercury, which came to rest in the dirt by the ramp about 7:45 p.m. His passenger, whose name hadn't been released late Monday, was ejected from the car when it rolled and was pronounced dead.

Marquez was taken to University Medical Center after he complained of injuries, Wolff said. Alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, police said.

Financial forms due from officials

Elected public officials must file their financial disclosure statements by Jan. 15 with the office of Secretary of State Dean Heller.

Jan. 15 is also the deadline for all appointed public officials who earn more than $6,000 to file their financial disclosure statements with the state Ethics Commission, Heller and Stacy Jennings, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said Monday.

The revised forms are available online (secretaryofstate.biz) or (ethics.state.nv.us).

A DUI crackdown

funded by the state Office of Traffic Safety resulted in five DUI arrests and 469 traffic citations over the weekend, Metro Police said. Five misdemeanor arrests were made for outstanding warrants and two felons were arrested for evading a police officer and a drug related charge, police said.