News briefs for June 1, 2004

Tuesday, June 1, 2004 | 10:13 a.m.

Parole denied for killer of father

The state Parole Board has denied the application for release of Conan Pope, who fatally shot his father in January 2000 in Las Vegas.

A spokeswoman for the board said today he would be eligible to reapply in March 2006.

Pope appeared before a panel of the board last month at Indian Springs and told members his father had abused him and his sister, which led up to the shooting.

Pope pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon in the shooting of his father Frank Pope, 62, with a .357 rifle. At the time, he was 15 years old.

He was sentenced to consecutive terms of two to 7 1/2 years in prison. The Parole Board two years ago granted him parole from his first term.

Police arrest suspect in killing

A 49-year-old man who police allege killed a woman and left her body in the desert was arrested in Henderson on Sunday, Metro Police said.

Joseph C. Suggs was arrested in the 1600 block of Box Step Drive by Henderson Police. Suggs was charged with murder and taken to the Clark County Detention Center.

Police had been looking for Suggs since Saturday, after deciding the dead woman was also the woman who was reported missing that same day. Suggs and the woman had a relationship that had a history of violence, police said.

Ana Outcalt of Las Vegas, 38, was found about 10:15 a.m. Saturday in the desert near Lake Mead Parkway and Pabco Road.

About 11:15 a.m. Saturday a woman reported her sister was missing. The woman told police her sister's 9-year-old child was left alone in a house, and that there were bloodstains in the home on the 3800 block of East Gowan Road.

Two men found shot to death

Metro Police are investigating the shooting deaths of two men found about 6:30 p.m. Friday in an apartment in the 2000 block of Paradise Road.

Michael Love Thomas of Las Vegas, 48, was pronounced dead at the Hometown Inn, police said. James Hawkins of Las Vegas, 26, was taken to University Medical Center, where he was also pronounced dead.

Both victims had gunshot wounds, Metro Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555 or Metro's Homicide Section at 229-3521.

Woman killed in drive-by shooting

North Las Vegas Police officers are investigating the shooting of a couple who drove themselves to Lake Mead Hospital about 4:30 a.m. on Saturday.

A man in his 20s had a bullet wound that was not life-threatening, police said. His passenger, Guisehlla Santiago of North Las Vegas, 18, died of a gunshot wound, according to the coroner's office and police.

The pair were shot while in the parking lot of the El Rincon Bar at 1820 E. Lake Mead Blvd. The shots came from a passing car, police said.

Not long after the shooting, witness accounts led police to stop a red vehicle at Belmont Avenue and Lake Mead. The driver, Ediberto Amiya, 22, of California and a passenger, Jose Villagomez-Lopez, 20, of Las Vegas, were booked into the North Las Vegas Detention Center on charges unrelated to the shooting.

Both men were booked on firearm and traffic charges, police said.

Body of woman found

Metro Police are investigating human remains found in the desert north of Las Vegas about 11:20 a.m. on Sunday.

The body was of a woman in her 70s but had not been positively identified this morning, according to the coroner's office. A vehicle was found with the body north of the Army Reserve unit off Range Road and the north section of the Las Vegas Beltway, according to North Las Vegas Police, which initially responded to the case.

Supreme Court rejects appeal

The Nevada Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of Anthony E. Petty, sentenced to consecutive life terms with parole for the 1977 fatal shooting of another man in Las Vegas over a pair of pants.

The court rejected Petty's claim that his lawyer was ineffective. The lawyer had waived his right to a speedy trial, Petty complained. Petty had sought a trial within the required 60 days, but the state was granted a continuance because counsel and witnesses were not available.

Petty went on trial 150 days after his initial appearance in District Court. The Supreme Court said Friday the attorney for Petty was concerned about his client's competency and that was the reason for the waiver of the speedy trial. It said Petty failed to show that he had suffered any prejudice because of the delay of the trial.

Petty was convicted of killing Ray Watts, who was shot six times. Watts had demanded Petty give him a pair of pants Petty was packing as he was preparing to leave Las Vegas.

Man knocked down as wife backs up

A woman was arrested on felony drunken driving charges Saturday after her husband was knocked to the ground when she backed up as he tried to get into the vehicle.

The incident happened about 5 p.m. Saturday in the Tropicana Village Mobile Home Community.

Police said Rose Varella, 43, was backing up a 1987 Chevrolet El Camino and didn't see her husband trying to get into the vehicle.

Her husband, James Varella, 49, was knocked to the ground. He was taken to University Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition, police said.

Police said Rose Varella failed a field sobriety test and was arrested.

Suspect to face charges in Chicago

A Japanese citizen accused of embezzling more than $5 million from the U.S. affiliate of a Japanese company will be sent to Chicago within the next 10 days to face charges.

Hisashi Shimizu, former president of Chicago-based Toda America Inc., an affiliate of Toda Kogyo Corp., was arrested at the Rio last week. On Thursday U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leavitt ordered Shimizu be taken to Chicago to face a wire fraud charge.

Toda Kogyo Corp. official Hiroyuki Kondo said at a news conference in Hiroshima that Shimizu, a 47-year-old Japanese national, is accused of withdrawing money from the company's accounts in early April.

FBI agents arrested Shimizu after agents in Chicago were notified of a credit card charge he made at the Rio.

Candle caused fire that killed kittens

A fire in a Las Vegas home Saturday afternoon that killed three kittens and displaced a mother and her two children was caused by a burning candle that had been left alone in a bedroom, according to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.

The 2 p.m. fire at 124 Foxdale Way caused about $45,000 in damage and was extinguished by firefighters in five to 10 minutes.

The fire was contained to a bedroom the candle was in. There was smoke and water damage in the hallway and parts of the first floor, the statement said.

The American Red Cross provided temporary shelter to the family.

Three arrested on burglary charges

North Las Vegas Police arrested three people on suspicion of burglary early Sunday morning after short chases by foot and in a 2000 Ford Explorer.

Officers were called to a Wal-Mart at the 1800 block of West Craig Road about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday while a burglary was in progress.

Police allege Kevin Harvey, 35, Patrick Jackson, 44, and Jada Perkins, 23, all of Las Vegas, were talking on cell phones.