Local news briefs for February 14, 2000

LV woman guilty in bicyclist's death

A 34-year-old Las Vegas woman has pleaded guilty to a felony drunken driving charge in a June 13, 1998, incident that killed a bicyclist.

In Friday's plea bargain, Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson said that a second charge against Michelle Wood of leaving the scene of an accident will be dismissed.

Wood explained in court that she had just left a party when her 1997 Pontiac struck 50-year-old Anthony Lisciandrello on Nellis Boulevard near Lake Mead Boulevard.

She left the scene but turned herself into police a short time later.

Wood told District Judge Donald Mosley that she hasn't driven since .

The DUI plea requires that she be sentenced to at least a year in prison. The maximum penalty could be eight to 20 years. Sentencing is May 11.

Inmate escapes from prison van

State prison officials were still searching this morning for a female inmate who escaped Friday while being transported from a halfway house to a correctional facility near Lamb Boulevard and Interstate 15.

Nevada Department of Prisons officials said Tracey Gladden jumped out of the van carrying her and ran off just before the van entered the Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Facility, 4370 Smiley Road.

Gladden was serving a sentence of one year to 32 months for trafficking in a controlled substance, Department of Prisons spokesman Howard Skolnik said.

She had begun her sentence on Aug. 16, 1999, and had been at the Southern Nevada Restitution Center, a North Las Vegas halfway house, since Jan. 13.

Pair sought in robberies

Henderson Police are seeking two men in connection with two Sunday morning robberies of supermarket slot machine clerks that police believe are related.

The first robbery was at 5:30 a.m. at the Smith's supermarket, 4600 E. Sunset Road, when two men approached the slot change clerk and demanded money. One of the two showed the clerk a handgun, and the pair left the store with an undisclosed amount of money, police said.

A little more than an hour later the slot clerk at the Albertson's supermarket at 2851 N. Green Valley Parkway was robbed in a similar fashion.

The first man is described as 6 feet 2 inches tall, 180 pounds, between 25 and 27 years old, with a dark complexion, police said. He was wearing a dark knit cap, dark blue sweatshirt, blue jeans and tan boots.

The second suspect was described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, 170 pounds, between 20 and 22 years old, with a lighter complexion, police said. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored leather jacket, an orange shirt, blue jeans and white tennis shoes.

Anyone with information about either incident is urged to call the Henderson Police Department at 565-8933 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

Road delays expected on I-15, at Lake Mead

Nevada Department of Transportation crews will be striping lanes on Interstate 15 between Sahara and Tropicana avenues tonight and Tuesday.

The striping will last from 9 p.m. and to 5 a.m. each night.

For the next few months, travelers to Lake Mead also will be faced with delays as three entrance stations are built at the national recreation area. The stations are being constructed at Boulder Beach, Las Vegas Bay on Lake Mead Drive and southeast of North Las Vegas on Lake Mead Boulevard.

Each construction area will force traffic onto an 800-foot detour along a gravel path on the side of the road.

Africanized bees identified

A swarm of aggressive bees that sent a man to the hospital Wednesday in a northwest Las Vegas neighborhood have been identified as Africanized honey bees by the local office of the Department of Agriculture.

The bees had built a nest in a wood fence between two houses in the 1200 block of Saylor Way near Culley Elementary School off Jones Boulevard.

The bees swarmed the 79-year-old man, stinging him several times, Las Vegas Fire Department officials said.

The man was taken to University Medical Center, where he later checked himself out of the hospital.

"What we are seeing is the natural defense of the Africanized honey bee protecting its colony from disturbances that they feel are a threat," Las Vegas Department of Agriculture Bee Coordinator Gina Stoneking said. "For safety, all honey bee hives should be considered Africanized and should not be disturbed."

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