News briefs for June 25, 2003

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 | 11:32 a.m.

Inmate's death called suicide

An inmate at the Southern Desert Correctional Center near Indian Springs died Tuesday of an apparent suicide, the Nevada Department of Corrections reported.

Christian Dennis, 34, was serving 1 to 2.8 years for a possession of a controlled substance conviction.

Howard Skolnik, assistant director of the Department of Corrections said Dennis was not on suicide watch and was observed less than an hour before the body was found.

"It appears he hung himself," Skolnik said. However, the investigation is still being conducted.

A Corrections Department statement said Dennis' death was reported about 8:20 a.m. Tuesday. The department did not give the cause of death.

This is the first suicide that has occurred there in a couple of years, Skolnik said. Another suicide was reported in Northern Nevada in May of this year. Last year no suicides were reported, Skolnick said.

Man gets 10 years in prostitution case

A Chicago man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after being convicted of bringing a 16-year-old girl and an adult woman to Las Vegas for prostitution.

Quinton Williams, 41, was sentenced to 125 months in prison and a $2,500 fine Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Kent Dawson.

Williams was found guilty of the prostitution charges, money laundering, sex trafficking of children and interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

Fires scheduled near Grand Canyon

Fire management officials plan three prescribed burns later this year at Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument in Arizona.

The planned burns, which will be carried out this summer and fall, will include more than 2,000 acres in separate fires.

Officials from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area said the goal of the prescribed burns was to reduce the danger of catastrophic fire in the remote monument, north of Grand Canyon.

The burns will be scheduled when weather conditions and available personnel permit.

Mirage sharks go to Pittsburgh

Two white-tip reef sharks from The Mirage are now living in a tank at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium where more than a dozen sharks previously died.

The 4-foot-long fish had lived in The Mirage aquarium for two years, zoo officials said. These are the first sharks the zoo has acquired since 13 sharks died for various reasons.

A male and female shark are already in the ocean tank in Pittsburgh and a second female from The Mirage will join them soon, officials said.

Despite the long flight from Las Vegas to Pittsburgh, the sharks appeared to be doing well, officials said.