News briefs for August 2, 2004

Monday, Aug. 2, 2004 | 9:33 a.m.

Two killed in NLV shootings

Two men were killed in separate shootings in North Las Vegas this weekend, police said.

North Las Vegas Police were called to the 3600 block of Thomas Avenue, near Lake Mead Boulevard and Civic Center Drive, at 4:50 a.m. Saturday and found two men with gunshot wounds.

Both were taken to University Medical Center where one of the men was pronounced dead, police said.

The Clark County Coroner today identified the dead man as Ezequiel Ontiveros, 28, of North Las Vegas.

The second man's wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, and there were no known suspects as of Sunday night, police said.

Another man was shot late Saturday night in the 3500 block of Rio Robles Drive near the Community College of Southern Nevada's Cheyenne Campus, police said.

The man was taken to UMC where he died shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday, police said.

Clark County Coroner's Office personnel said this morning they could not yet release the name of the dead man.

Detectives and patrol officers followed leads throughout Saturday night and were able to identify 49-year-old Lester Gamble as a suspect in the Rio Robles shooting, police said. Gamble was arrested Sunday afternoon in connection with the shooting.

LV man hit by car in fair condition

A 22-year-old Las Vegas man who was struck by a car on East Flamingo Road near Swenson Street early Saturday morning was in fair condition this morning, University Medical Center personnel said.

Mladen Stefanovic was attempting to run across Flamingo Road outside of a crosswalk about 1:30 a.m. when he was struck by a 1996 Mercedes Benz C220 driven by 50-year-old Emma Fox of Las Vegas, police said.

Stefanovic was transported to University Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition Sunday night. UMC spokeswoman Cheryl Persinger today said Stefanovic's condition had improved.

Fox suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene by paramedics, police said.

Cause of Sky-Vue blaze undetermined

Investigators will never know the cause of the fire that erupted at Sky-Vue Mobile Home Park on Thursday, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said this morning.

It took about 65 firefighters 40 minutes to quell the fire, and the destruction of six trailers at the park was so through that investigators could not determine the cause, spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

Szymanksi said investigators were not able to inspect the scene until a day after fire because of the hot weather and extreme heat of the fire.

The trailers that were destroyed had already been in such poor condition that no dollar damage is being placed on the fire, he said.

Las Vegas officials shut down the mobile park in April after determining that it was a public health hazard. Several city agencies discovered code violations at the park, involving health and safety codes for sewers, electricity and water.

Sky-Vue owners David DiMarco and his wife, Sandi, face jail time for allegedly operating the mobile home without a license and may face additional charges for the code violations. A pretrial hearing is set for Aug. 23.

Fire damages Henderson home

A child playing with a lighter inside a bedroom closet caused a fire that caused about $120,000 in damage to a Henderson home near Horizon Ridge and Arroyo Grande Boulevard on Saturday morning.

Investigators said the child playing with a lighter caused the fire, which brought damanges of about $120,000.

Henderson firefighters responded to the 100 block of Verde Ridge Court about 10:15 a.m. and saw heavy smoke and flames coming from four windows on the second floor of the home, Battalion Chief Doug Koopman said.

A woman told firefighters that she and her seven children had safely gotten out of the home and no one else was inside, Koopman said.

The fire was under control in 15 minutes and none of the adjacent homes were damaged.

Thirty-two emergency personnel responded to the fire using five fire engines, one ladder truck and two paramedic rescue units, Koopman said.

No injuries were reported, Koopman said.

Mosquitoes found to have encephalitis

Nevada state laboratory has confirmed that mosquitoes collected near Fernley in Northern Nevada's Lyon County tested positive for St. Louis Encephalitis.

The encephalitis, transmitted like West Nile Virus by mosquitoes, affects birds and humans, state veterinarian Dr. David Thain said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported that Nevada has had three cases of St. Louis encephalitis in humans since 1964.

The last time St. Louis encephalitis was detected in Nevada was almost 10 years ago in Washoe County, which includes Reno and Carson City, and it was not a human case, Thain said.

The West Nile virus has been detected in nine Nevada counties, including Clark and Nye in Southern Nevada, Thain said.

NLV officer injured in crash

A North Las Vegas Police officer was injured Saturday afternoon when a driver believed to be under the influence of alcohol made an illegal turn and collided with a marked patrol car at Pecos Road and Las Vegas Boulevard North, police allege.

Officer Randy Laswell was driving southbound on Pecos Road crossing Las Vegas Boulevard about 3 p.m. when Robert Odette drove a brown 1990 GMC van around a stopped vehicle and made an illegal left turn, police said.

The van then collided with the driver's side of the police car, at which point the officer's vehicle struck a light pole on the corner of the intersection, police said.

Laswell was taken to University Medical Center, treated for minor injuries and released Saturday.

Odette was arrested and charged with DUI and various other charges, police said.