News briefs for December 8, 2004

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004 | 11:11 a.m.

Three branches of same bank robbed

The FBI is investigating three bank robberies that occurred Tuesday at three Nevada State Bank branches.

Two of the three holdups are believed to have been committed by the same robber, while a third appears to have been committed by a different man and is not related, an FBI spokesman said.

The first robbery occurred at a branch at 4600 E. Sunset Road about 10 a.m., and is unrelated to the other two robberies, authorities said.

The second robbery occurred about 11:30 a.m. at a branch at 4170 S. Maryland Parkway, while the third occurred about 1:30 p.m. at 3688 S. Jones Blvd.

Both robbers threatened clerks by telling them they had a weapon and escaped with undisclosed amounts of money from each branch.

The robber believed to have committed two heists allegedly went to a car dealership and test drove a car between the two robberies.

Bixler named Justice Court chief

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace James M. Bixler has been chosen by his peers as the new chief judge for the state's busiest court.

Bixler, who has served as justice of the peace since September 1981, will begin his post as chief judge beginning Jan. 3. Justice of the Peace William D. Jansen will serve as vice chief judge.

Bixler has listed as his priorities for 2005: The completion of an organization and workload assessment promoting efficiency, coordination of a criminal case management system with District Court and occupancy of the Regional Justice Center to be his top priorities in 2005.

Las Vegas Justice Court processes more cases than any court in Nevada and, specifically, 59 percent of the criminal cases and 56 percent of the civil cases filed statewide.

Man kidnapped; account robbed

A man was kidnapped Nov. 21 from his friend's apartment on Ramrod Avenue in Henderson and taken by his kidnappers -- two men and one woman -- to try to withdraw money from his bank account from various locations, Henderson Police reported.

The man was later returned to his friend's apartment at which time his friend was shot, according to police.

Anyone with information about the case can call Henderson Police at 267-4760 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Murder suspect is extradited

A man suspected of killing his grandmother and abducting his 5-year-old niece was extradited to Pomona, Calif., according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper pulled over the car driven by the suspect, Geremy Gamell, on Dec. 4 at the Russell Road exit on Interstate 15, according to a statement released by the Nevada Highway patrol on Tuesday.

A 5-year-old girl and two small dogs were inside the car with Gamell. It was not determined on Tuesday whether the girl traveling with Gamell was the allegedly abducted niece.

Gamell was pulled over because he was driving a car with an expired California registration, the statement said. The trooper arrested Gamell for possession of a stolen car, driving without a driver's license and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Upon further investigation, the Nevada Highway Patrol discovered that Pamona Police Department in California wanted Gamell for the alleged homicide and abduction.

Nevada Highway Patrol troopers would not comment Tuesday on the arrest or extradition of Gamell. It remained unclear what happened to the 5-year-old girl found with Gamell.