News briefs for April 2, 2004

Friday, April 2, 2004 | 11:34 a.m.

Judge delays ruling in death of girl, 13

A preliminary hearing for the two men charged with killing a 13-year-old North Las Vegas girl concluded Thursday, with a judge postponing her decision in the matter until next week.

Justice of the Peace Natalie Tyrrell said she would wait until April 6 to determine whether Robert Earl Hayes, 21, and Todd Dominique Johnson, 18, should be bound over to District Court on charges that they shot and killed Tanisha Turner.

Turner was struck by a bullet on Nov. 20 as she walked home through her neighborhood near West Lake Mead and Martin Luther King boulevards.

The hearing concluded Thursday after two postponements in the case. On one occasion, a woman who claimed she witnessed the shooting had a seizure moments into her testimony. Weeks later, another key witness for the prosecution fled the courthouse moments before he was supposed to testify.

Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for that witness, Earnest Hicks, but he has not been located as of Thursday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane said.

During Thursday's hearing, a Metro homicide detective testified that both Hayes and Johnson confessed the crime to police.

Kidnap suspect found in LV

A 27-year-old Albuquerque man wanted on kidnapping and assault charges in New Mexico was arrested Thursday at a casino near Nellis Air Force Base, the FBI said.

Derrick Williams and the alleged victim, Tiffany Robinson, who was Williams' girlfriend, were found at the Barcelona casino on East Craig Road around 3 p.m. Thursday, Special Agent Todd Palmer said.

Robinson "appeared shaken, but otherwise well," Palmer said.

FBI Special Agent Bill Elwell said both Williams and Robinson are in the Air Force and assigned to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.

Elwell said police got a call from Robinson's neighbors around 10 p.m. Wednesday. The neighbors said they heard a gunshot from Robinson's home and then saw Williams taking her to his vehicle at gunpoint.

Palmer said Williams was booked at the Clark County Detention Center Thursday night on charges of aggravated assault, aggravated residential burglary and kidnapping.

Hearing scheduled on court papers

A hearing has been set for April 27 in District Court to determine whether a North Las Vegas justice of the peace should be compelled to release court documents regarding a woman charged with arson and attempted murder.

District Judge Stu Bell has scheduled the hearing for 9 a.m. in answer to a lawsuit filed last week by the Las Vegas Sun against Justice Stephen Dahl for refusing to release to a Sun reporter public documents, including a police report, in the case of Jennifer Pence, also known as Jennifer Mendoza.

The Sun contends that the public has a right to the information under Nevada's open record laws.

Mendoza, 32, is accused of burning her apartment in the 2100 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North near Bruce Street while her three children were inside on Dec. 2. All were treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital.

Ex-guard, inmate plead not guilty

A former guard and a former female inmate at the state women's prison in North Las Vegas both pleaded innocent Thursday to charges they had sexual relations that resulted in the birth of a boy.

District Judge Donald Mosley set Jan. 31, 2005, for trial for former correctional officer Randy Easter and inmate Korinda Martin. Both waived their right to a speedy trial.

They are charged with one count each of voluntary sexual conduct between a prisoner and another person. The penalty is one to four years in prison.

Martin is serving a two- to 10-year term in Carson City for robbery and is eligible for parole in July 2005. If paroled, she must start serving a consecutive one- to four-year term for coercion.

Shooting panel gets new chairman

The Clark County Sport Shooting Park Advisory Committee has appointed John Lee, a former assemblyman, as the new chairman of the 3-year-old group.

Lee succeeds Charles Musser, who was appointed vice chairman. The committee is exploring the feasibility of developing a public sport shooting park on 2,880 acres.

In December 2003, the federal Bureau of Land Management deeded the land to the county and gave the county a $500,000 grant to do design work for the park.

The county has asked for $15 million from public land sales proceeds to develop the shooting range.

Comments taken on Spring Valley

Clark County will have an open house for residents, developers and others to review and comment on a proposed map and draft policies for the Spring Valley Land Use Plan Update.

County staff will attend the meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 1 in Durango High School's cafeteria, to answer questions. The draft map and policies incorporate comments and suggestions gathered and applied since the update process began in October 2003.

The map also will be on display at the Spring Valley Library during April and is posted online at www.accessclarkcounty.com.

Comments about the proposed Spring Valley plan can be submitted online, at the library or at the meeting.

Davis Dam will close to traffic

The Bureau of Reclamation plans to close the roadway over Davis Dam, near Laughlin, indefinitely to all vehicle traffic starting April 12.

Pedestrians will still be allowed to walk across the top of the dam.

The Davis Dam road closure is the latest in a series of security measures the bureau has taken since 1997, Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Bob Walsh said.

Since 1995 federal officials have been assessing potential dangers to the West's dams, Walsh said. Those efforts were intensified after the 2001 terrorist attacks, he said.

A second bridge, two miles south of Davis Dam linking Laughlin to Bullhead City, Ariz., will stay open.