News briefs for June 9, 2005

Thursday, June 9, 2005 | 11:29 a.m.

Man killed in freeway crash

A man was killed this morning when his car slid under a tractor-trailer on U.S. 95 south at the Valley View Boulevard exit, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

The collision occurred about 5 a.m. when a white Honda sedan entered the highway from Decatur, apparently at a high rate of speed, and collided with the back of the truck, Trooper Angie Chavera said.

The car became lodged under the truck and was flattened, she said. The truck driver continued driving about a quarter-mile, dragging the car, before stopping when he realized what had happened, Chavera said.

The Honda driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Traffic was backed up about five miles to the Cheyenne exit, Chavera said.

Police investigate murder-suicide

Metro Police this morning were investigating an apparent murder-suicide that occurred about 1:15 a.m. today on Ogden Avenue near Lamb Boulevard.

Sgt. Ken Hefner said the gunman approached the victim and two of his friends in a driveway and began to fire shots at him.

The victim ran, but moments later he was shot and fell to the ground. The suspect approached him and fired at his head at close range, police said. The suspect then shot himself in the head and died.

The suspect lived a few houses away from where the shooting occurred and the victim lives a few streets away, Hefner said.

The murder appears to have stemmed from an ongoing conflict between the two men after a fight several months ago. Their names and ages had not been released by authorities this morning.

Man charged in murder-rape

Authorities have charged a 31-year-old Las Vegas man in connection with the murder and rape of another woman at an apartment complex on Russell Road near Boulder Highway on May 4.

Norman Keith Flowers is accused of killing Marilee Coote, 45 and Rena Gonzales, 25, both residents of the Silver Pines apartment complex. Both were strangled, police said.

Authorities said Wednesday Flowers would only be charged in the Coote case, but the Clark County District Attorney's Office later announced that they had enough evidence to also charge him with killing Gonzales.

Flowers was arrested Tuesday and is being held in the Clark County Detention Center.

Man sought in fatal shooting

Metro Police are seeking a man known as "Hoss" for questioning in connection with a fatal shooting last week outside a recording studio on Western Avenue near Sahara Avenue.

Roosevelt Hines, 33, a local rapper known as "Mr. Looks," was shot June 2 outside Dunjun Studios and his friend was wounded.

"Hoss" might have been an employee of the studio. He is not a suspect but police think he might have information on the homicide. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 229-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Housing authority writes off debt

The North Las Vegas Housing Authority on Wednesday wrote off more than $57,000 in debt that it is owed by other housing agencies under the low-income housing voucher program.

The North Las Vegas agency is owed the "portable" funds when an individual receiving Section 8 housing vouchers moves from one jurisdiction and begins accepting the vouchers in another. Between 10 and 15 housing agencies currently owe the North Las Vegas authority $57,538 in portable funds.

"We sent them a bill but never followed up," said Don England, executive director of the housing authority at a monthly meeting of the agency.

The housing agency is still trying to collect the money, England said.

The North Las Vegas agency has faced cuts in federal funding and has laid off workers because of its shrinking $14 million budget. The housing agency serves approximately 1,800 residents.

Supreme Court rejects appeal

The Nevada Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the appeal of John J. Seka, convicted of the murder of two men in Las Vegas.

The court said Seka's claims that his attorney was ineffective at trial were without merit. Seka, in his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, argued that there were eight instances where his lawyer failed to do what should have been done.

Seka, now 36-years old, was sentenced in April 2001 to life in prison without parole for his the fatal shooting of Peter Limanni, 33 and to life in prison with parole for the killing of Eric Hamilton, 34 in separate cases in 1998.

Car leaves before police arrive

Metro Police received a call about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday that a child was alone in the back seat of a car in the parking lot of Costco at 801 South Pavilion Center, near the Las Vegas Beltway and Charleston Boulevard, officers said.

By the time a patrol car arrived, however, the car had left the shopping center parking lot, police said.

Suspect arrested in robbery case

A 21-year-old Hawaii man was arrested in Las Vegas this week, four years after he gave cover to two men during the robbery of a Kailua credit union.

Police arrested Wayne Kalai Miller on a federal warrant Monday as he checked into a hotel on the Strip. Miller was the third and final suspect in a robbery at the Windward Community Federal Credit Union on Dec. 21, 2001.

Police said Miller broke the glass entrance doors and held a gun during the robbery as two men grabbed the money and fled. The alleged robbers escaped in a white van and later on a dark blue pickup truck. They also sprayed the van with WD-40 oil to prevent police from obtaining fingerprints.

The other two suspects, Taylor Ikaika Garcia and Gavin Koa, are cooperating with federal law enforcement officials.

LV teenager dies in crash

A 17-year-old Las Vegas boy was killed Wednesday night when a driver hit a wall on Frank Sinatra Drive near Flamingo Road.

The crash occurred just after 11 p.m. when Julian Pickens, 28, of Compton, Calif., lost control of the 1998 Chrysler Sebring he was driving and struck the concrete support walls for the Flamingo Road overpass, police said.

The passenger, whose name had not been released this morning, died at the scene and Pickens suffered serious injuries.

Police said it appears alcohol may have contributed to the wreck.