News briefs for July 2, 2004

Friday, July 2, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

Warrant issued in May 18 shooting

Metro Police said Thursday a warrant has been issued for the arrest of 16-year-old Timothy Monahan on charges of attempted murder in a May 18 shooting in eastern Las Vegas.

The shooting occurred in the early morning across the street from Roy Martin Middle School on East Stewart Avenue near Eastern Avenue.

The victim in the shooting was on his way to work when Monahan and a friend approached the victim on bicycles, Detective Brian Kobrys of Metro's gang unit said.

Kobrys said Monahan, an alleged gang member, used a 9mm handgun to shoot his victim five times. The teenagers had been in a dispute with the victim the previous evening, he said.

The police so far have not been able to locate Monahan, who may be charged as an adult.

Fire still smolders in wildlife refuge

If cooler temperatures and light winds continue to hold, fire officials do not expect the 1,057-acre wild fire inside the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to spread, according to a release from the Bureau of Land Management.

Pilots Thursday continued to monitor the fire still smoldering inside the refuge in Desolation Canyon, on the east side of the Sheep Mountains more than 40 miles north of Las Vegas, Kirsten Cannon, a spokeswoman for the BLM said today.

If the fire picked up again, firefighters would be sent out to combat the blaze, which sparked Monday afternoon, Cannon said.

Fire officials said lightening likely caused the fire.

Mormon Well Road inside the refuge is temporarily closed for safety reasons.

Plane returns to McCarran

An 77-passenger airplane returned to McCarran International Airport shortly after take-off Thursday night when crew members noticed the smell of fumes onboard.

United Airways Flight 1512 was flying to San Francisco about 9 p.m. when the crew first smelled the fumes and decided to turn the plane around, Department of Aviation spokeswoman Elaine Sanchez said.

Two passengers and two flight attendants complained of headaches and were treated inside the terminal.

UNLV prof joins Bankruptcy Court

A University of Nevada, Las Vegas law professor has been appointed to fill the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seat in Las Vegas that was vacated when Robert Jones was appointed to the U.S. District Court last year.

Bruce Markell, 48, will begin his 14-year term on July 9, after being appointed by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Markell has taught at UNLV's Boyd Law School since 1999, and previously taught at Indiana University.

65 take LV buyout offer

Sixty-five city employees have agreed to retire early in return for larger retirement funds, a buyout that Las Vegas officials hope will save money in the future.

Employees who have worked for Las Vegas for 20 years or more are being offered the opportunity to retire in the next six months. As incentive, the city will add two more years to their retirement funds.

City Manager Doug Selby said that, in all, the buyout will cost about $4.6 million, $1.8 million of which would have originally been paid out to employees when they eventually retired.

After the buyout, Selby said, the employees' positions would remain vacant for about six months while the city assesses whether or not to rehire.

"We believe that in the long run, we should be able to recoup the cost of the buyout program within 12 to 18 months," Selby said.