Wednesday, March 24, 2004 | 11:20 a.m.
Court upholds murder conviction
The Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the first-degree murder conviction of Rudiberto Guerrero, who was sentenced to two life terms with the possibility of parole after 20 years.
Guerrero, in the appeal, argued there were numerous instances during his trial when his attorney was ineffective.
Guerrero and his son, Alberto Guerrero, were both convicted of murder for the shotgun and pistol slaying of Manuel Monpie after an argument over some taped music at a party in December 1996 in Las Vegas.
The father said his trial attorney, Joseph Sciscento, failed to conduct a meaningful pre-trial investigation into whether the victim was a violent gang member who had many enemies and whether Monpie carried a handgun and returned gunfire on the night he was killed and whether the gun was hidden by Monpie's girlfriend.
The Supreme Court noted that Sciscento testified at an evidentiary hearing in district court that he had hired a private investigator to investigate the case.
Settlement OK'd over golf course
Boulder City's legal sparring with the company that built the financially troubled Boulder Creek Golf Course appears over.
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a settlement that will pay Wadsworth Golf Construction $613,000 in return for the company finishing construction at the course, including repairing some leaking lakes.
Wadsworth, based in Phoenix, had a $12 million contract to build the course. But when the city withheld a final payment because of a dispute over whether the construction was finished, the company sued the city for $842,933.
Detroit fugitive found at Orleans
A U.S. marshals-led fugitive apprehension unit arrested a man at The Orleans Tuesday who was wanted in Detroit in connection with a drug smuggling operation.
Christopher Barraza, 25, was arrested about 1 p.m., after avoiding arrest for the past two years. Barraza is alleged to be a member of an international drug trafficking organization responsible for smuggling over 100,000 pounds of marijuana from Mexico to the Detroit area.
Barraza was apprehended by Nevada FIST, fugitive investigative strike team, made up of Marshals, Metro Police and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and explosives.
Memorial planned for service dogs
A memorial to war and service dogs is planned for Boulder City's Veterans Memorial Park.
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously supported the memorial, which was proposed by members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Bob Garlow, a member of the Boulder City VFW post, said many of the war dogs gave their lives for others.
Service dogs include those dogs that serve with police departments, he said.
He said the dogs are to be honored with a plaque on a stone in the city park.
Child-abuse suspect arrested
A 32-year-old fugitive from Arizona was arrested Monday in Las Vegas by the Criminal Apprehension Team, composed of Metro and Henderson police officers and FBI agents.
Dossin Ellis Jr. was wanted in Tempe, Ariz., for child abuse and a probation violation. Ellis is also a suspect in the homicide of a child, police said.
A girl Ellis was baby-sitting last October suffered injuries that resulted in her death, Sgt. Tom Roberts of the CAT group said.
After that incident, Ellis apparently left the area. Investigators determined he had fled to Las Vegas. He was apprehended about 3:30 p.m. Monday in the 4800 block of Rush Springs Drive near Decatur Boulevard and Robindale Road where he had been living with friends, Roberts said.
Henderson to host osteopathic college
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine has selected Henderson as the site for the first private college of osteopathic medicine in Nevada.
The school's inaugural class, scheduled to start in the fall, will have 75 medical students and 30 physician assistant students located in a 69,000-square-foot building at 874 American Pacific Drive.
Elected officials and Henderson business and civic leaders will officially welcome Touro's vice president for national affairs, Jay Sexter, on Monday.
The Henderson location is a branch of an existing Touro University medical school program in Northern California. Officials expect that within a few years the Henderson campus will triple the number of medical students being trained in Southern Nevada.
Nevada ranks 46th in the nation in the number of physicians per 100,000 residents.
Las Vegas tied a heat record
Tuesday after breaking the mark for three days in a row, the National Weather Service reported. Tuesday's daytime high of 89 degrees tied the record set in 1940.
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