Court briefs for Nov. 5, 2003

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2003 | 9:07 a.m.

Trial begins in shooting death

Jury selection began on Tuesday in the trial of a man in the shooting death of a Las Vegas father as he helped his daughter put her bike away.

Omar Robles, 23, will stand trial on murder charges in the August 2001 death of 39-year-old Nazario Rios-Olivera. Opening arguments in the case were expected to begin this afternoon.

Authorities say Robles was trying to shoot another man when he opened fire in an alley in the 1300 block of North 13th Street. They say Rios-Olivera was caught in the crossfire as he helped his young daughter put her bike away in a nearby apartment complex.

Rios-Olivera shielded his daughter from the bullets, police said.

Ricardo Barragan, the man authorities believe was the intended target, was shot in the leg during the incident.

In a similar case, Pascual Lozano on Monday was sentenced to death in the killing of 9-year-old Genesis Gonzales. Gonzales was struck by a stray bullet as Lozano fired shots at a rival gang member in North Las Vegas.

Man sentenced in DUI death

A man charged with driving drunk in the death a semi-pro hockey player was sentenced to three to 15 years in prison Tuesday.

Michael Patrick Hickey, 29, had pleaded guilty to one count of DUI causing death or substantial bodily harm in connection with the Jan. 10 death of 27-year-old Justin Dale Kolisnek. Kolisnek played hockey with the Las Vegas Royals of the Xtreme Hockey League.

District Judge Michael Cherry handed down the sentence. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed one count each of reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter.

Kolisnek was helping a friend push his car, which had run out of gas, on North Rancho Drive near Texas Station when the car Hickey was driving hit Kolisnek, Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said.

Kolisnek died five days later at University Medical Center, less than a week before his son's first birthday, Booker said.