Monday, March 31, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
* JAYWALKER KILLED -- Investigators believe a jaywalker may have been intoxicated when he walked into traffic on East Lake Mead Boulevard and was killed. The 32-year-old pedestrian was heading north across the 3400 block of East Lake Mead about 170 feet east of the crosswalk when he was hit at 12:30 a.m. Sunday, North Las Vegas Police said. Police did not release the name of the driver of the 1995 Honda sedan. The victim was taken to University Medical Center where he later died, police said. "Alcohol is believed to be a factor on the pedestrian's behalf," North Las Vegas Sgt. Tim Grady said. The victim's name was not released pending notification of his family.
* MURDER CHARGE -- A Las Vegas man is facing a murder charge in the stabbing death of a man at a mobile home park. The victim has been identified as 38-year-old John Martinez III of Las Vegas. Tony Burriloa, 39, was arrested about 6 a.m. Saturday as he was leaving his home, said Metro Police homicide Sgt. Kevin Manning. Martinez was found dead about 8 p.m. Friday in the street in front of the Desert Paradise Mobile Home Park at 4070 Las Vegas Blvd. North. Detectives believe an argument several days earlier between Martinez and Burriloa may have prompted Friday's confrontation.
* INMATE ATTACKED -- A prison inmate was in serious but stable and guarded condition today after being attacked by inmates at the Southern Desert Correctional Center near Indian Springs, prison officials said. Nevada Department of Prisons officials said 32-year-old Joseph Zerwekh's condition was severe enough after the 9:35 a.m. Saturday incident for him to be airlifted by a Flight for Life helicopter to University Medical Center. Zerwekh "was severely beaten," prison spokesman Howard Skolnik said. "They were the injuries of a severe beating, mostly to his head area. He was a new inmate, so (the attack) was probably something that predated his being incarcerated here. It was not gang-related, and we know that it was not racial. ... All the usual reasons weren't there." Zerwekh was transferred from the Clark County Detention Center to the prison on Feb. 26, and is serving a four-year sentence for attempted possession of a stolen vehicle.
* SHOOTING DEATH -- A 31-year-old Pahrump man is set to appear Tuesday in Justice Court on charges of shooting his fiancee to death in her southeast Las Vegas home. David Crawford is additionally expected to answer to a burglary charge in the March 25 slaying of Gloria Joann Dugan, 26. Crawford was booked into Clark County Detention Center after turning himself over to homicide investigators about 5:30 p.m. Friday with the assistance of an attorney retained by his family. Two co-workers found Dugan's body in a bedroom after going to her home at 7077 Orange Grove Lane, near Tamarus Street and Warm Springs Road, when she failed to show up at work, police said. Investigators initially said that Dugan lived alone, but have since said she shared the residence with Crawford. Metro Police homicide Sgt. Bill Keeton said Crawford was a military temp assigned to foreign duty and also lived at his parents' Pahrump home.
* APARTMENT FIRE -- An electric space heater placed too close to a bed is believed to be the cause of an apartment fire that sent two occupants to the hospital. The single-story brick duplex at 612 W. Washington Ave. was engulfed in flames when Las Vegas firefighters arrived shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday. The blaze was extinguished in a few minutes. A 34-year-old female and a 64-year-old male who lived in the apartment were able to escape but suffered slight smoke inhalation and were treated at University Medical Center, fire department spokesman Tim Szymanski said. The fire was confined to a single unit, which was destroyed. Damage has been estimated at $10,000.
* FATAL ROLLOVER -- Traffic investigators believe excessive speed and alcohol may be the major contributors to a fatal rollover in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The victim was headed southwest in his 1990 Ford Fiesta along North Shore Road at 10:40 p.m. Friday when he failed to negotiate a curve, crossed the median and left the road about four miles northeast of the Callville Bay access road, authorities said. The car rolled an estimated 298 feet and landed on its top, said Karen Whitney, National Park Service spokeswoman. The victim was found at the bottom of an eight-foot embankment about 25 feet off the road, she said. The victim's name was being withheld until relatives could be notified. Investigators said the man may have been drinking. "This is the sixth rollover accident to occur in the last few weeks," said Michael Blandford, National Park Service investigator. "The others were more fortunate than this man, but we are concerned about the number of people traveling at high speeds on the park's two-lane roads."
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