News briefs for July 19, 2004

Monday, July 19, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

Man charged in slaying

A 25-year-old Las Vegas man was arrested Friday on charges of killing and robbing his neighbor inside an apartment near Desert Inn Road and Durango Drive.

Carl Henry was arrested at a local hospital after a witness called Metro Police.

The witness told a homicide detective he thought a murder had occurred in an apartment in the 3300 block of Sky Country Lane. Detectives went to the apartment and found the victim's body.

The official cause of death had yet to be determined this morning; however, it was believed the man died as the result of blunt force trauma, police said. His name has not yet been released.

Henry was being held in the Clark County Detention Center on charges of murder, robbery and burglary. He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

Resident slain by intruder

A 48-year-old man was shot and killed by an intruder inside his mobile home early Saturday night in the 4000 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North.

Neighbors reported hearing gunshots coming from the man's home around 7:30 p.m., police said. Police arrived and found a man with a gunshot wound.

The man was transported to University Medical Center, where he died from his injuries, police said. His name has not yet been released.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555 or Metro Homicide at 229-3521.

Man charged with arson

A 52-year-old man was arrested Saturday on charges of attempted murder and arson in connection with an apartment fire near Nellis Boulevard and Flamingo Road, a fire official said.

Firefighters responded to the fire in the 3400 block of Cabana Drive about 3:30 a.m. Saturday and quickly extinguished the blaze, Bob Leinbach, a spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department, said.

No injuries were reported, and the residents escaped from the home, he said.

About two hours after the fire, Bural Mazzette, believed to have been involved in a domestic dispute with those in the apartment, was arrested and charged with arson, two counts of attempted murder and violation of a temporary protection order.

Mazzette was being held this morning at the Clark County Detention Center.

The fire was contained to one downstairs apartment, but caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, he said.

Californian dies in boating accident

A 26-year-old Burbank, Calif., man died Sunday after he fell off a personal watercraft and another vessel ran over him in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the National Park Service said.

The accident that killed Hovanes R. Minasian occurred about 1:30 p.m. on Lake Mohave, park service spokeswoman Roxanne Dey said.

Minasian's death is the second as the result of a boat accident this year, Dey said.

This was the 13th fatality, including drownings, at Lake Mead National Recreation Area this year.

Type-O blood supply low

Las Vegas' blood supply is waning, especially Type-O blood, a local blood donation group announced Friday while appealing for blood donors.

"The Las Vegas community has responded well; however, with the summer months, donations have decreased. This decrease has affected our O blood type supply, especially O negative blood components," Gary Haman, United Blood Services Hospital Services director, said.

UBS, which maintains and delivers blood to 22 area hospitals, said donors should call 233-9620 to arrange an appointment at a local blood center.

Eligible donors must be at least 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds. Donor eligibility information is also available by contacting a donor supervisor at 228-4483.

Water concerns at mine probed

ELKO -- The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection is planning to investigate questions raised by two environmental groups regarding groundwater quality at Cortez Gold Mines operations southwest of Carlin.

"I'm not aware of any groundwater problems," the division's Deputy Administrator Leo Drozdoff said, but he added that agency will look into the concerns and provide answers to questions raised in the complaint.

"Essentially, Great Basin Mine Watch and the Western Shoshone Defense Project are requesting that the Division of Environmental Protection investigate various questions regarding the Pipeline Project," Drozdoff said.

The two groups are alleging that Cortez is contaminating groundwater with extra salt and nitrates picked up as water infiltrates back into the ground.

Nicole Rinke, an attorney for the Western Mining Action Project who filed the request for investigation with the state for the two environmental groups, said state law prohibits degradation of groundwater.

"That NDEP has been permitting this for years is illegal and illogical," Rinke said.