News briefs for March 15, 2004

Monday, March 15, 2004 | 9:41 a.m.

Passenger dies after Jeep rolls

A Las Vegas man died Saturday morning after the Jeep he was a passenger in struck a concrete block wall and overturned on Arby Avenue at El Capitan Way, near Durango Drive and the Las Vegas Beltway, police said.

Eric Lee Batroff, 18, was in the 1998 Jeep Wrangler when it crossed the intersection and the driver, Christopher Silfies, 23, lost control after the speeding Jeep hit a dip in the roadway at 2 a.m., police said.

The Jeep crashed through a wall, landscaping and an overhead street light pole before rolling onto the passenger side, police said.

Both men were wearing seat belts, but were partially ejected from the Jeep due to absence of doors on the vehicle, police said.

The two men were airlifted to University Medical Center, where Batroff died.

Silfies suffered moderate injuries.

Speed and alcohol were possibly contributing factors in the crash, police said. No criminal action has been taken pending further investigation.

Reid, residents to discuss heliport

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., will meet with residents of Henderson's Anthem community on Tuesday to discuss possible federal legislation that would free up federally owned land south of Sloan for a controversial regional heliport.

The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Anthem Center, 2450 Hampton Road.

A group calling itself SHOUT, or Stop Helicopters Over Urban Territory, scored a victory of sorts on Feb. 3 when the Clark County Commission selected an area about two miles south of Sloan as the desired location for a new regional heliport.

That would put the helicopters farther from the Henderson homes. However, the site is on federally owned land. Congress would have to approve the release of the land to the county before a heliport could be built there.

Sunday saw a record high

The Las Vegas Valley set a record high temperature Sunday, reaching 83 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

This beat the previous record of 82 degrees, set in 1972, said meteorologist Charlie Schlott.

Valley residents can expect temperatures to stay around the lower 80s throughout the week, he said.

Schlott said he did not think the city would reach the record high of 84 degrees on Monday, which was set in 1994.

"It will be close," he said. "But no, I think we'll just near the record high temperatures this week."

Las Vegas will see clear skies with no precipitation in site throughout the week, Schlott said.

"No storm systems are coming our way," he said. "It's going to be a nice week. It will be warm, but not too warm."

Nye to settle Bell's lawsuit

The Nye County School District will pay $200,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the son of radio host Art Bell.

An agreement was reached last week in the lawsuit stemming from the 1997 sexual assault of Bell's son by a substitute teacher in Pahrump. The suit was scheduled to go to trial next week.

The substitute teacher, Brian E. Lepley, 39, was convicted in 1998 of sexual assault charges against Bell's son, who was 16 at the time of the incident. A second trial ordered by the Nevada Supreme Court also resulted in a guilty verdict being returned against Lepley, who is serving out his sentence in the Lovelock Corrections Center.

Guinn seeks probe on gasoline prices

Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn has joined with two Nevada Democrats in Congress in asking the Federal Trade Commission to examine the oil companies in light of the recent spike in gasoline prices.

Guinn, in a letter to FTC Chairman Timothy Muris Friday, wrote: "We are unwilling to accept unsubstantiated representations by refiners that the market is operating fairly.

"The current market situation exposes our citizens to periodic price spikes that provide windfall revenues for some refiners without a promise for improved supply of these products for consumers."

Earlier, Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Shelley Berkley, both Democrats, called on the FTC to monitor the petroleum markets in Nevada, California and Arizona.

1-year-old girl nearly drowns

A 1-year-old girl was hospitalized Friday after she almost drowned in a backyard pool, the Clark County Fire Department said.

Rescue personnel were called to a house about 1 p.m. after the girl's mother found her in the pool. Robert Leinbach, fire department spokesman, said the girl got into the pool while her mother had been asleep and the father was occupied.

It was the fourth drowning incident since March 6. In all cases, the incident has occurred in the back yard of a residence, the victims have been younger than 2 and the emergencies occurred between 1 p.m. and 5:15 p.m., the warmest part of the day, Leinbach said.

British police arrest LV fugitive

Police in England on Wednesday arrested a 33-year-old man wanted in Las Vegas for child molestation since 2000, Metro Police said.

Michael Stafford Farrell was living in a "squalid flat" in a small village on the coast of England about 70 miles from London, Metro Police Sgt. Tom Roberts said.

Farrell was arrested by Metro on Feb. 15, 2000, on multiple charges of sexual assault of a minor and lewdness with a minor. He was found guilty of lewdness and was scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 27, 2000, Roberts said.

He failed to appear in court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Catlett leaving Guinn's staff

Brian Catlett, director of constituent services for Gov. Kenny Guinn since October 1999, has resigned to become campaign manager of Clark County Commission Chairman Chip Maxfield.

Before joining the Guinn staff, Catlett, 28, was involved in campaign activities. No replacement was named.