Las Vegas news briefs

FBI agents and North Las Vegas police arrested 18 people Thursday, culminating an 18-month investigation into a suspected drug trafficking organization operating out of a North Las Vegas bar.

Agent Kevin Caudle said of the 18 people arrested in a citywide sweep, nine face federal charges, eight were turned over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and one faces state charges.

Those arrested face a variety of drug and illegal firearms charges.

Woman, 33, held in death of husband, 85

Las Vegas authorities are holding a 33-year-old woman for New York prosecutors who allege she married an 85-year-old man six years ago and then gave him a lethal mixture of drugs to collect an estate valued at $500,000.

Manhattan investigators arrested Sylvia Mitchell in Las Vegas Saturday.

A spokesman for the New York City district attorney's office said Mitchell is challenging extradition.

She has been charged with second degree manslaughter and grand larceny, according to a complaint filed this week in New York.

Police identified the dead man as Andrew G. Vlasto, a member of a prominent Greek-American family active in publishing and politics.

Three months after the marriage, Vlasto died under suspicious circumstances, shortly after $80,000 had been abruptly withdrawn from his bank accounts by his new wife.

Free trolley rides offered in Las Vegas

Primary election early voting kicks off Saturday with the offer of free trolley rides for groups and organizations in each city ward to their respective mobile voting sites or to the city clerk's office.

Early voting continues through April 30.

Groups who want to take advantage of the free trolley ride Saturday should call Roni Ronemus or Donna Willey at 229-6311.

The mobile sites in the four wards are:

Ward 1, Community College of Southern Nevada, Charleston Campus, 6375 W. Charleston Blvd. It will be open Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.

Ward 2, Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive. It will be open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Ward 3, Lucky grocery story at East Bonanza Road and Eastern Avenue. It will be open April 24, 26 and 27.

Ward 4, Rancho Santa Fe Theaters at Rancho Road and North Rainbow Boulevard. It will be open April 28-30.

In addition to the mobile sites, early-voting sites open Saturday at Meadows mall and the city clerk's office.

City residents who wish to vote early and who currently take the city trolley to Meadows mall can receive a free ride if they tell the driver when boarding that they are going to vote.

Services to be held in Texas next week

Services for the pilot who was killed in the April 4 Flight for Life helicopter crash will be held April 24 in Galveston, Texas.

James Bond Jr., 42, was killed along with two University Medical Center flight nurses when their helicopter crashed near Indian Springs.

Metro probes burglary of several weapons

Metro Police say they have several good leads into the burglary of a gun store earlier this week, in which firearms with a total value estimated at $25,000 were taken.

Metro spokesman Steve Meriwether said most of the weapons taken were handguns, but a few rifles also were stolen from Active Sports, 2264 S. Nellis Blvd., sometime before 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.

There were no visible signs of a forced entry into the store.

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