News briefs for February 21, 2005

Monday, Feb. 21, 2005 | 9:02 a.m.

Police say pair stabbed each other

Two men remained hospitalized this morning after they allegedly stabbed each other Sunday night in the parking lot of a Best Buy store on Marks Street in Henderson.

The men, ages 19 and 21, know each other, Henderson Police spokesman Todd Rasmussen said. They began fighting after one of the men allegedly assaulted the other's girlfriend, Rasmussen said.

Their fight began at Terrible Herbst at 601 Marks St. The fight escalated, then they left to get weapons and met up again in the Best Buy parking lot at 611 Marks St. about 8 p.m.

One of the men had a metal object used to lock steering wheels and the other had a knife, Rasmussen said. Both suffered multiple stab wounds. One man was taken to University Medical Center and the other man was taken to Sunrise Hospital.

Police shot at during car chase

A man wanted by Louisiana authorities on a murder charge led Metro Police on a high-speed chase Friday afternoon during which his passenger used an assault rifle to shoot at officers, police said.

Police said that during surveillance on Kentro Taylor, 31, they saw him and two women leave a residence in a car and called nearby officers to stop them.

When police tried to pull over Taylor, he sped away, police said. As they followed, April Jones, 21, allegedly began shooting at police and their cars from the passenger window with an AR-15 assault rifle, police said.

No officers were injured.

The chase ended in traffic at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Bonanza Road where police arrested Taylor and Jones. The third passenger was not charged with any crimes, police said.

Zion tunnel fee to increase

Zion National Park announced Friday that the tunnel escort fee for nearly all recreational vehicles and those similar in size will increase May 1 to $15.

The $5 increase to escort oversized vehicles through the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel will help pay for the service.

Oversized vehicles are those wider than 94 inches or taller that 136 inches that cannot travel the tunnel without crossing the double yellow lines or scraping the ceiling. They include trailers and many dual-wheeled vehicles.

Berkley pushes Yucca defense bill

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., made another attempt Thursday to get Congress to approve a process for planning to protect the Yucca Mountain nuclear dump agains terrorist attacks.

Berkley has introduced a version of this bill since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but no action has taken place on it.

The bill calls for several agencies to figure out how to defend the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, against a terrorist attack and to determine how to respond to the consequences if one occurs.

Las Vegas Fire & Rescue Assistant Chief Cherina Kleven

was named the Asian Chamber of Commerce 2005 Government Employee of the Year on Friday. Kleven has been with the department 16 years in various positions including firefighter. She is the first female chief officer in the department.