News briefs for August 26, 2004

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004 | 10:57 a.m.

Wynn garage hit by fire

A cloud of black smoke poured from the north side of a parking garage under construction at the Wynn Resort on the Las Vegas Strip on Wednesday, but Clark County Fire Department firefighters quickly doused the blaze.

A second alarm was not called because the flames and smoke were confined to an 800-square-foot area on the fourth floor of the garage, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

The fire originated in a pile of 8-inch-wide PVC pipe, Leinbach said. PVC contains hydrocarbon and burns readily, he said.

Bank robbery suspect arrested

A man police believe was responsible for several recent bank robberies in Las Vegas was arrested late Wednesday morning after he was spotted in a bank parking lot in the northwest part of the valley.

A local bank employee and real estate employee called Metro at 11:45 a.m. and reported seeing 70-year-old William Laurix sitting inside a silver Kia in the parking lot of Washington Federal Savings at 9340 Sun City Blvd., police said.

The employees recognized Laurix from bank robbery surveillance photo fliers that had been given to area banks by the FBI and Metro Robbery Section, police said.

Metro officers, FBI agents and robbery detectives searched the area and found Laurix in the parking lot of Nevada State Bank at 8400 W. Lake Mead Blvd., police said.

Divorced fathers group is ousted

Equal Rights for Divorced Fathers, an organization founded to help men get through divorces and custody battles, has been removed from Clark County District Court and Family Court pamphlets and lists after displaying anti-female materials -- which include slogans that poke fun at domestic violence and abuse of women -- at its Las Vegas office.

District Court Administrator Chuck Short made the decision on Wednesday. Short oversees civil and criminal courts as well as the Family Court.

When brochures and lists were put together, local experts submitted names of organizations, including Equal Rights for Divorced Fathers, Rachelle Resnick of the Family Court said.

Ernest Del Casal, founder and director of Equal Rights for Divorced Fathers, has estimated he helps more than 30 men a day. Del Casal, 53, who is raising two grandchildren, is running for a seat in the Clark County School Board's District C.