News briefs for May 27, 2003

Tuesday, May 27, 2003 | 9:36 a.m.

Man charged with teen sex assault

A grand jury on Friday indicted a Las Vegas man on multiple sexual assault charges in connection with the rape of a 14-year-old family member.

The indictment, unsealed before District Judge David Wall, charges Edmund Norman Concepcion with 16 counts of sexual assault with a minor under 16, three counts of open or gross lewdness and a charge of attempted sexual assault.

Prosecutors claim Concepcion molested the girl between March 24 and April 23.

Concepcion is being held at the Clark County Detention Center with bail set at $335,000. He will be arraigned May 29 before District Judge Valorie Vega.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Eric Jorgenson said attorneys are planning to have a hearing to determine whether Concepcion is competent to stand trial.

Fire strikes LV restaurant

Fire damaged a Strip restaurant late Sunday night and closed the northbound lanes of Las Vegas Boulevard to traffic on the busy holiday weekend, but no one was injured.

The fire caused an estimated $150,000 in damage at Tong's Palace restaurant.

The fire was ruled accidental, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

When firefighters arrived on the scene about 11:30 p.m., flames and smoke were visible inside the one-story brick restaurant, Szymanski said.

The restaurant was open for business at the time of the fire, but there were no customers, Szymanski said.

The Strip was closed for about 90 minutes due to the fire, Szymanski said. Traffic backed up along both Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, he said. The road re-opened shortly after 1 a.m.

Couple killed as pickup flips over

Henderson Police are investigating the deaths of a man and a woman in a crash in which a 1968 Dodge pickup truck struck a median on Seven Hills Drive, flipped on its side and caught fire.

Police responded to the accident about 3 a.m. on Sunday. Only the pickup truck was involved, Henderson Police spokesman Shane Lewis said.

Three people were in the truck at the time of the crash, Lewis said. The passenger, a man, was taken to University Medical Center's Trauma Unit.

The names of the man and the woman are being withheld until their families can be notified. Police believe that alcohol may have been a factor in the accident, Lewis said.

Woman sought in shooting

North Las Vegas Police are looking for a woman in connection with the shooting of another woman who allegedly was with her boyfriend.

Police responded to the Newport Village Apartments in the 1800 block of Gowan Road near Martin Luther King Boulevard about 8 p.m. on Sunday, police said.

The woman suspected in the shooting had fled the apartment when officers arrived.

The victim was taken to University Medical Center, where she was listed in stable condition.

13,157 cast early votes

A total of 13,157 voters had cast early ballots in the municipal election as of Monday, the Clark County Election Department reported.

That's out of a total of 342,088 active voters who are registered.

The general election is June 3.

In the first week of voting, 10,048 people cast ballots in Las Vegas, Boulder City, Mesquite and at mobile units.

A total of 3,109 votes were cast during the second week of voting.

Dog food may be tainted

U.S. consumers are being asked to return dog food that may have come from a Canadian cow that tested positive for mad cow disease.

Pet Pantry International of Carson City, which issued the request Monday, said customers should search for two products: "Maintenance Diet" with a "use by" date of "17FEB04" and "Beef with Barley" with a date of "05MAR04.

If found, the food should be held for pickup. The company's products are purchased by phone or e-mail and delivered by franchises to consumers' homes.

There is no known risk to dogs and no evidence that dogs could transmit the disease to humans, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Customers who purchased dog food since February should check their supplies and, if found, should call the company at (800) 381-7387. Pet Pantry also is using sales records to contact consumers.