News briefs for November 24, 2004

Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2004 | 11:04 a.m.

Driver dies after hitting police car

A man who ran a red light and collided with a Metro Police patrol car and a pickup truck Tuesday morning died at University Medical Center shortly after the collision.

Jorge Ernesto Zepeda-Cuevas, 20, of Las Vegas was believed to have been drunk when he drove a 1993 Acura Integra through a red light on Charleston Boulevard at Lamb Boulevard, Metro Police said.

He collided with a 1989 Chevrolet Cheyenne driven by 40-year-old Lorenzo Garcia, and the pickup truck hit a 2001 Ford Crown Victoria driven by Officer Scott Wildermuth, police said.

Garcia and Wildermuth were treated for minor injuries. Zepeda-Cuevas was later pronounced dead. The death marks the 125th traffic-related fatality in Metro's jurisdiction this year.

Pedestrian struck near a crosswalk

A 24-year-old Las Vegas man was critically injured when he was hit by a pickup truck on Nellis Boulevard near Twain Avenue about 3:50 p.m. Tuesday, Metro Police said.

Richard Griffith was crossing Nellis outside the crosswalk and against the traffic signal when a 2001 Ford Ranger driven by August Ehni, 64, of Las Vegas struck him while turning left, police said.

Griffith is being treated at University Medical Center.

Wrong-way biker hits police officer

A Metro Police motorcycle officer was hit by a motorcycle he was chasing in the airport connecter tunnel about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

The 2003 Suzuki GSXR 600 driven by 20-year-old Dallas Locklear had been reported stolen Nov. 8, Detective Dennis Magill said. When Officer Greg Goen, 44, saw Locklear on the motorcycle, Goen tried to pull Locklear over, but Locklear did not stop, police said.

In the tunnel Locklear made a U-turn, and Goen positioned his motorcycle to block his escape. Locklear tried to go around Goen, but he hit the front of Goen's 2002 Harley-Davidson, Magill said.

Both Locklear and Goen fell from their bikes and Locklear was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, evading police and battery with a deadly weapon.

Goen was treated at University Medical Center for moderate injuries and released.

Mother arrested in suffocation case

Metro Police arrested a 39-year-old Las Vegas woman Sunday for attempted murder after she confessed to holding a pillow against her 9-year-old son's face, police said.

Patricia Hood called 911 about 5:30 p.m. after apparently trying to suffocate her son, a police report says. The boy told officers, "Mommy put the pillow over my face and said, 'I'm gonna kill you,' " according to the report.

Police believe she held the pillow against his face until he stopped breathing and then released him. He was not injured.

Police arrested her at her home on Gentilly Lane near Rainbow Boulevard and Smoke Ranch Road. When an officer asked Hood what happened, she said ' "My blood ran cold and a devil voice was telling me we were bad and it was our time,' " the report says.

Hood said the voice also told her, "Your son is bad, you have bad seed ... There is nothing good in you," according to the report.

She was scheduled to appear in court today.

Internet computer sales called fraud

Metro Police arrested a 27-year-old man on fraud charges after he allegedly accepted several thousands of dollars from people in exchange for laptop computers that he claimed to be selling on the Internet, but never sent.

He was taken into custody Saturday on charges of burglary, fraud and possessing credit card numbers without the consent of cardholders.

According to the arrest report, a man from Ohio claimed he sent Mathis $6,000 for 10 Sony laptop computers Mathis was selling on a Yahoo! auction site last month. After sending the money Mathis stopped returning the victim's e-mails or phone calls.

While investigating that case, police received five other Internet fraud complaints from victims who said they were defrauded by Mathis, the report says.

A detective posed as a customer and sent $690 for a laptop Mathis was selling online. Mathis was arrested when he picked up the payment at a post office box center.

Police said they found four credit card numbers jotted in a notebook that Mathis had with him when he was arrested.

Man, 24, charged in gang shooting

A 24-year-old Las Vegas man was arrested Nov. 18 for the murder of a rival gang member in August, Metro Police said.

Juan Martinez allegedly shot and killed 23-year-old Roberto Rodriguez after they flashed gang signs at each other in a parking lot in the 1500 block of North Jones Boulevard, police said.

Martinez chased Rodriguez down a nearby alley and shot him, police said. Detectives arrested him at his apartment in the 1700 block of East Karen Avenue after a three-month investigation.

Two fugitives found in LV

Two fugitives -- one wanted for murder in Chicago and another for child molestation in Colorado -- were arrested Friday by officials with the Nevada Fugitive Investigative Strike Team and U.S. Marshals.

Andrew Binion, 18, allegedly fled Chicago after shooting and killing a rival gang member Nov. 14.

After being notified by the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force that Binion was in the Las Vegas area, authorities tracked him down at a relative's house near Decatur Boulevard and Flamingo Road. He is being held in the Clark County Detention Center awaiting extradition to Illinois.

Howard Dean Herring, 54, was wanted by the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office for sexually assaulting a child, authorities said. He was living in a trailer on Boulder Highway and was arrested at a nearby casino.

He is being held at the detention center awaiting extradition to Colorado.

Witness to killing of man is sought

Metro Police are looking for a 34-year-old man who may have information about the shooting death of a 19-year-old on Nov. 13 near Fort Apache and Russell roads.

Detectives believe Edgar Ortiz was present when Erik Turrubiate of North Las Vegas was killed, Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said, and he knows the identity of those responsible.

Ortiz was last seen driving a late model Chevrolet Tahoe after the homicide.

The shooting occurred in a home in the 5400 block of Jacobs Field Street. Several bullets went into the home on either side, but no other injuries were reported. While investigating the shooting police said they found a marijuana-growing operation in the home.

Four killed in weekend accidents

Four people died in collisions on valley highways between Friday and Sunday, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

About 9 p.m. Friday, Sergio Rivas, 24, of Las Vegas hit a car parked in the shoulder of U.S. 95 at Interstate 15. Rivas was killed and four passengers were injured, Trooper Angie Chavera said. Three people in the parked car were also hurt.

Just before 4:30 a.m. Saturday a driver lost control while going around a curve on the Las Vegas Beltway near Losee Road. The vehicle flipped over and two occupants were ejected, Chavera said. A man indentified as Jeronimo De La Cruz-Castorena was killed.

About 2:50 a.m. Sunday a woman lost control while driving north on U.S. 95, causing her car to spin and then overturn, Chavera said. The driver, Sandra Castaldo, 37, of North Las Vegas was thrown from the car and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A man walking south in the northbound lane of the the Tropicana Avenue was hit by a Mitsubishi Lancer about 4:35 a.m. Sunday, Chavera said. He died at the scene.

Residents fined for water waste

The Las Vegas Valley Water District investigated more local residents for possibly wasting water during July, August and September than it did during either of the previous two quarters this year, according to the agency.

The Water District completed more than 10,900 water waste investigations during those three months, roughly 700 more than the previous quarter, according to the district.

Of those, 750 offenders had to pay fines after repeated warnings from the agency, the district said.

Sixty-three percent of the people who paid fines lived in single-family homes, up 2 percent from the previous three months but down 7 percent from the beginning of 2004.

During the previous three months, 542 fines were assessed as punishment for wasting water, according to the water district.

West Nile threat believed over

Even with recent rains, the threat of West Nile virus carried by mosquitoes in Southern Nevada is over until at least spring, Clark County officials said Tuesday.

Once temperatures overnight dip into the upper 30s or low 40s, the insects quit breeding, Richard Hicks of Clark County Vector Control said.

Local surveys in Southern Nevada have not turned up any disease-bearing insects. One species of mosquito, Culiseta, has appeared in local traps, but the insect usually bites horses and cows rather than humans, Hicks said. And that species doesn't carry the West Nile virus, he added.

Health officials confirmed a total of 20 cases of West Nile virus in people in Clark County this year. Three other cases were listed as probable, because not enough specimens were collected to confirm the existence of the virus.

There have been no deaths related to West Nile virus in Clark County.