News briefs for August 19, 2004

Thursday, Aug. 19, 2004 | 9:47 a.m.

Man arrested in girlfriend's death

Metro Police arrested a 34-year-old man Wednesday night on charges of fatally stabbing his 23-year-old girlfriend in an apartment near Twain Avenue and Paradise Road.

Ray Antonio Azcarate, who was arrested last week on charges of assaulting his girlfriend, was being held this morning in the Clark County Detention Center on charges of murder with a deadly weapon.

Sgt. Kevin Manning said Azcarate called a neighbor in the Royal Crest apartments about 10 p.m. and asked him to come over. The neighbor arrived to find the woman dead on the floor with a stab wound in her chest.

The neighbor asked someone to call 911 and when police arrived, Azcarate answered the door and was arrested a short time later, Manning said.

Woman killed when SUV crashes

A 48-year-old Las Vegas woman was killed early Wednesday night when the luxury SUV she was driving ran off the road and rolled several times on Gilespie Street, north of Warm Springs Road.

Kathleen Claire Tamasi of Las Vegas was speeding southbound on Gilespie Street in her 2004 Cadillac SRX about 6:50 p.m. when she lost control of the vehicle and spun around into the northbound lane, police said.

The car drifted off the road into a desert area and rolled several times before stopping, police said. Tamasi, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, was thrown from the car and later died from her injuries, police said.

It was the 82nd auto fatality handled by Metro Police this year.

Driver injured in roll-over

A Las Vegas woman in her 40s was in critical condition this morning after she rolled her white, two-door Ford about 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Angie Chavera said.

The woman was driving southbound on the Las Vegas Beltway near Charleston Boulevard when she lost control of the car, over-corrected and ended up in the northbound lanes, Chavera said.

The driver, who was wearing a seatbelt, was taken to University Medical Center, where she remained this morning.

Fugitive from Ohio arrested in LV

A 24-year-old man wanted on murder charges in Cincinnati was arrested Wednesday in Las Vegas, police said.

Phillip Maurice Judge was taken into custody by the Criminal Apprehension Team, comprising Metro and Henderson police and FBI agents, in an apartment near Washington Avenue and Bruce Street.

Sgt. Tom Roberts of the CAT team said Judge is accused of into a dispute with a man June 16 and shot him five times with a handgun, then stood over him and shot him several more times.

A Las Vegas resident was harboring Judge, Roberts said, and may face charges.

Labor official gets new post

State Labor Commissioner Terry Johnson, who has held the job for five years, has been named deputy director of the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, it was announced Wednesday.

Johnson will earn $90,855. He succeeds Elizabeth Jones, who retired.

The appointment was made by Birgit Baker, director of the employment department.

Johnson, 38, earned $73,000 as labor commissioner. Deputy Labor Commissioner Michael Tancheck will serve as acting commissioner until a replacement is announced.