In Brief
DRUNKEN DRIVING ALLEGED
Crash victim identified as 52-year-old Las Vegas man
The man killed during a Sunday morning crash in which police believe the other driver was drunk has been identified as 52-year-old Robert Childress Jr.
The Las Vegas man was driving his 1980 Mercedes 300SD north on Main Street and attempting to turn left on to Charleston Boulevard when his vehicle was struck at 5:52 a.m., police said.
Police said 22-year-old Jacques Norton was driving a 2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser east on Charleston at a high rate of speed when it hit the Mercedes.
Norton was arrested on charges of felony driving under the influence resulting in death and was booked without bail at the Clark County Detention Center.
BEATING DEATH
Suspect found in portable toilet enters not guilty plea
A Las Vegas man on Monday pleaded not guilty to allegations of fatally beating a 35-year-old man to death with a pipe in January.
Mark Hoffman, 46, is charged with murder with a deadly weapon in the killing of Steven Kelly over what appears to be a love triangle. Investigators have said Hoffman believed that while he was in jail, Kelly was having an affair with his girlfriend.
Kelly was found Jan. 14 with head injuries in an apartment at 150 E. Hoover Ave., near Main Street and Charleston Boulevard.
Las Vegas police found Hoffman hiding at a nearby construction site in a portable toilet with a wound to his abdomen.
Hoffman told investigators Kelly stabbed him and that he fought back in self-defense.
Police believe Hoffman injured himself so that he could claim self-defense.
Hoffman is being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail, according to jail records.
RETALIATION A POSSIBILITY
Three juveniles stabbed, fourth beaten in gang activity
Three juveniles were stabbed and another was beaten in a Sunday night incident that Las Vegas police said is gang related.
Lt. Hans Walters said the stabbings took place just before midnight at 1321 Rexford Place, near Las Vegas Boulevard South and East Charleston Boulevard.
All three victims were transported to University Medical Center and are expected to survive their injuries, Walters said.
The stabbings were immediately preceded by a beating that took place two blocks west at 1721 Santa Paula Drive. It's not clear if the stabbings were in retaliation for the beating, but the incidents are related, Walters said.
Las Vegas police arrested two suspects upon arrival, and another remains at large. All suspects and victims in the incident appear to be juveniles involved in gang activity, Walters said.
SECOND-DEGREE MURDER
24-year-old sentenced to 25 years in prison after guilty plea
A 24-year-old man last week pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon in a fatal shooting outside of a Las Vegas bar in May 2009.
Authorities said Peter Simpkins Jr. shot and killed Tyron Stacey Nelon outside the New Town Tavern, 600 E. Jackson Ave., near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Owens Avenue.
One witness told Las Vegas police that Simpkins was upset with Nelon because Nelon hadn't paid him for a rock of cocaine, according to Simpkins' arrest report.
Simpkins told police that Nelon had threatened him with a .22 caliber handgun and when he pulled out his own gun, it went off accidentally, according to the report.
Judge Kathy Hardcastle on Thursday sentenced Simpkins to 25 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years.
BOMBPOPS AND POT
Arizona woman selling more than ice cream, police say
Tips to a Silent Witness hot line put police on the trail of a woman who was selling more than sweet treats from her ice cream truck in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Police said Lorna Gaudette, 51, was arrested Thursday after selling marijuana from her "Hava Sweet Thang" ice cream truck.
Police Sgt. Joe Harrold said officers witnessed a marijuana sale and stopped the ice cream truck at 4:44 p.m.
"A usable quantity of marijuana was located inside the ice cream truck," Harrold said.
He said officers found more marijuana, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia at the woman's home.
Gaudette was booked into jail for sale of marijuana, possession of marijuana, possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.
WOUNDED IN MARCH 23 SHOOTOUT
Hospital reports police officer's condition upgraded to good
The condition of the Las Vegas police officer shot while pursuing a suspect last month has been upgraded to good, according to University Medical Center.
Michael Madland was shot twice on March 23, including once in the leg, which severed an artery and required numerous surgeries. The other shot was stopped by a protective vest.
The three-year veteran was chasing 26-year-old Damon Beal when police said Beal shot Madland. Madland's partner, Christopher LeBlanc, shot Beal twice in the head, killing him.
Authorities said Beal and 45-year-old Marvin Wilson were driving a stolen Mercedes, which prompted the two officers to pull them over.
Las Vegas police suspect that Beal and Wilson also were involved in the armed robbery of a 7-Eleven in November. Wilson faces an additional charge of robbery with a deadly weapon in connection with the Nov. 23 convenience store robbery on Charleston Boulevard, near Decatur Boulevard.
