Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

News briefs for July 13, 2004

Leaky motorcycle sparks garage fire

Gasoline leaking from a motorcycle in a Henderson garage caused a fire at a single-story home about 7 p.m. Monday, Henderson Fire Department Battalion Chief Douglas Koopman said.

Damages to the house, in the 1100 block of Hutch Court near Boulder Highway and Equestrian Road, were estimated at $25,000.

Twenty-six firefighters turned out to find smoke pouring from the garage. Residents said they heard a loud explosion followed by smoke coming from the garage, and they tried to put out the fire with a portable fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived, Koopman said.

The fire was doused within five minutes and confined to the garage.

No one was injured.

Southwest Gas Corp. secured the residential natural gas supply.

Former boxing champ sentenced

A former Olympic boxing champion and gold medalist at the 1984 Olympics was sentenced Monday by a federal judge to 37 months in prison followed by three years of probation, and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to federal identity theft charges, according to Daniel G. Bogden, U.S. Attorney for Nevada.

Henry Durand Tillman, 43, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty on March 15 to possessing fraudulent checks and identification documents and using those items in an attempt to transfer money in Las Vegas earlier this year, Bogden said.

Metro Police arrested Tillman on Jan. 6 at the 7200 block of Spring Mountain Road after a Wells Fargo bank teller reported that a woman tried to pass a counterfeit check of $2,838. The woman then got into Tillman's vehicle.

Metro Police pulled the vehicle over and searched the car, under Tillman's consent. Officers recovered six counterfeit driver's licenses, 18 counterfeit checks in various company names and eight counterfeit credit cards.

Panel OKs new license plates

CARSON CITY -- A state commission Monday approved the manufacture of three new special license plates.

Two commemorate Reno events -- the Hot August Nights car show and the Reno Air Races, a hot air balloon event. The Commission on Special License Plates also approved a license plate design sought by the Nevada Airport Managers Association. That plate will have the notation "Nevada Rich in Aviation History."

Before they are printed, at least 1,000 people must pledge to buy the design. Assemblywoman Vonne Chowning, D-North Las Vegas, chairwoman of the committee, said that the United We Stand license plate, approved by the 2003 Legislature, has 1,019 signatures and it will start being made in October or November.

The extra money from this plate, Chowning said, will be spent on anti-terrorism training and equipment.

Man dies when car hits bin

A 22-year-old Las Vegas man was killed about 4:20 a.m. today when his car crashed into a large metal construction bin on Lindell Road near Oakey Boulevard, Metro Police said.

The man, whose name has not yet been released, was heading north on Lindell when he veered to the side and hit the bin head-on. The bin was full of debris but the impact pushed it about 10 feet, said Sgt. Frank Weigand of Metro's fatal detail.

The driver was not wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene, Weigand said. It appears the driver was speeding, he added.

Police said they don't believe the location of the bin was a factor in the crash. It was off the street, in the shoulder and posed no more danger than a parked car would, Weigand said,

This was the 66th fatal collision this year in Metro's jurisdiction, which encompasses Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County.

IDs of two released

The coroner's office has released the names of two pedestrians who were hit by cars over the weekend.

Joseph T. Bulduc, 35, of Las Vegas was killed about 2:50 a.m. Sunday at U.S. 95 and State Route 157, the Mount Charleston turnoff. He was walking in the highway, trying to get help after his vehicle broke down, authorities said.

Several hours later 28-year-old Timothy Brian Morris of Las Vegas was struck and killed while trying to cross U.S. 95 near Boulder Highway.

Nevada Highway Patrol troopers said the pedestrians appear to have been at fault and no citations have been issued to the drivers.

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