News briefs for June 3, 2004

Thursday, June 3, 2004 | 10:04 a.m.

Man found shot to death

A man in his 20s was shot and killed this morning in an apartment complex near Decatur Boulevard and Desert Inn Road, Metro Police said.

Residents of the Wood Lake Villas in the 4700 block of Pennwood Avenue called police about 5 a.m. after hearing gunshots outside.

Police found the victim in the parking lot. He was taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Police found fresh graffiti on building walls and cars in the parking lot, but Lt. Tom Monahan of Metro's homicide section said investigators "have no idea if it's related to the homicide."

Two men were seen running from the complex, Monahan said.

"It's entirely possible that this was a natural reaction to hearing gunshots," he said.

Investigators this morning were interviewing residents but had no suspects.

Police were stopping short of saying the slaying was gang-related, Monahan said, but detectives from the gang crime section were analyzing the graffiti.

Anyone with information is asked to call Metro's homicide section at 229-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Victim's mother seeks traffic light

A North Las Vegas woman is asking for crosswalks and a traffic light at the intersection where her 8-year-old daughter was hit by a car and later died from her injuries.

Nicole Steffee has 359 signatures on a petition that is also asking that the speed limit be lowered on Revere Street, where her daughter Justyne was hit while riding her bike home from a friend's house on May 5.

Steffee went before the North Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday to ask for the changes at the intersection of Revere and Craig Creek Avenue.

Mayor Michael Montandon said such changes might not require council action and told Steffee that city staff will look into her requests.

"We appreciate you coming to us," Montandon said. "This and several other parks need to be looked at for pedestrian safety and crosswalks."

Justyne Steffee was in a coma until she was pronounced dead on May 19.

Kimberly Bunch, 29, who has been accused of driving into Justyne, has been charged with reckless driving, manslaughter and felony driving under the influence of drugs. Bunch was released to house arrest last week.

Teen seriously hurt in skateboard fall

A 14-year-old Las Vegas teen was seriously injured Wednesday afternoon when he fell off the motorized skateboard the juvenile was riding, Metro Police said.

The teen, who was not identified by police, fell while riding down Alexander Road, east of Tee Pee Lane.

The teen was taken to University Medical Center.

The motorized skateboard the teen was riding can reach speeds of up to 25 mph, according to information from a Web site for the company that sells the board.

Not-guilty plea entered in killing

A Las Vegas man charged with killing his ex-girlfriend, wrapping her in plastic and leaving her in the back seat of a car in March pleaded not guilty to a murder charge Wednesday.

Police allege Michael Anthony Wilson, 33, bludgeoned and strangled 40-year-old Connie Schultz in Las Vegas in early March.

Wilson is scheduled to go to trial July 12, 2005, before District Judge Donald Mosley.

Paramedic given Medal of Honor

Las Vegas Fire & Rescue paramedic Randy Farr received the city's highest honor Wednesday, when the Las Vegas City Council proclaimed it Randy Farr Day and gave him the city's Medal of Honor.

Farr was honored for his actions March 2, when firefighters said a man who flipped his SUV tried to shoot himself with a .45-caliber gun when rescue workers arrived on the scene.

Farr wrestled the gun away.

Anyone would have done the same, Farr said.

"It's just a matter of chance on where you are and when you are," Farr said. His fellow firefighters at Station 10 and across the valley, Farr said, do things "on a routine basis that may not be newsworthy but are very heroic."