Thursday, Dec. 13, 2001 | 10:10 a.m.
A 42-year-old man found shot to death near downtown Las Vegas Tuesday was identified this morning as Michael J. Pesola.
Pesola was found dead in an alley of the 2200 block of Sunrise Avenue near Eastern Avenue about 7:50 p.m. Pesola's girlfriend told Metro Police he had left her about about 30 minutes before he was found dead to meet someone, police said.
No suspects or motive for the killing has been identified.
Stabbing victim was 58-year-old
A 58-year-old man stabbed to death during a fight in Laughlin Tuesday was identified as John Walter Kilgore.
Donald Rinard, who spent 17 years in prison for a murder in Pensacola, Fla., was booked into the Tucker Holding Facility in Laughlin on a murder charge, Metro Police said.
Kilgore was found dead in a motor home parked next to the Colorado River, police said.
Woman, 19, is arrested
A 19-year-old woman wanted in connection with a jewelry robbery surrendered to Metro Police Wednesday.
Desirae Bueti, 19, was booked into the Clark County jail on robbery and burglary charges after being arrested about 12:30 a.m.
Police say Bueti was involved in a Monday night jewelry deal that turned into a robbery at a home near Decatur and Charleston boulevards.
The incident took place about 7 p.m., when, police say, Bueti and John Dimick, 31, went to a home in the 3200 block of Mason Avenue to respond to an advertisement for a jewelry sale.
Once the two were shown the jewelry, police say, Dimick attacked the home owner with a crowbar. The home owner's adult daughter grabbed a handgun and shot Dimick, police said.
Dimick was taken to University Medical Center, where he is listed in good condition. Police say Bueti fled with the jewelry.
The home owner was treated for minor injuries at UMC.
31-year-old man pleads guilty
A former theater manager at the Las Vegas Academy has pleaded guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old student.
Michael Vicious, 31, could receive probation or a one- to five-year prison term when sentenced by District Judge Joseph Bonaventure Feb. 13. He pleaded guilty to the felony charge of sexual conduct between certain employees of a school and a pupil.
Vicious was arrested in February, becoming one of nine Clark County School District employees charged this year for engaging in sexual relations with students or possessing child pornography.
Suspect to stay in mental facility
District Judge Lee Gates signed commitment papers a second time for a Las Vegas man accused of shooting his sister and elderly grandparents to death earlier this year.
Deputy District Attorney Robert Daskas told Gates Wednesday that doctors at a state mental health facility in Sparks believe that Dante Pattison still isn't able to stand trial because of his mental status.
As a result, Gates signed the paperwork necessary to keep Pattison in the facility.
Pattison, 21, is accused of using a rifle to gun down his sister, Carrie Adric-Pattison, 32, and their grandparents, Yoshio Kato, 82, and Sally Kato, 75, on Feb. 24.
Father pleads guilty in girl's death
A 31-year-old Henderson man pleaded guilty Wednesday in connection with a car accident that took the life of his 8-year-old daughter two years ago.
Deputy District Attorney James Hartsell said Cedrick Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of felony reckless driving and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence.
As a result of the plea agreement, District Judge Kathy Hardcastle will sentence Thomas to one to six years in prison Feb. 11. He also faces a $5,000 fine.
Police believe Thomas was under the influence of methamphetamine when he went through a red light at the intersection of Pecos and Pebble roads Dec. 6, 1999.
Michael Sarah Thomas was in the rear seat of the 1999 Volkswagen when Thomas' car collided with a 1999 Ford Explorer driven by Nichol Lehman, 26.
The collision caused Lehman to strike a pole in the median. She and a passenger suffered non-life threatening injuries. Thomas' car then crossed over a median and struck a curb, ejecting Michael Thomas from the car, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Accomplice gets 4 years in prison
A 27-year-old Las Vegas man was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for his part in a July 2000 race-related slaying.
Sheldon Hollimon, 27, will have to serve at least one year before becoming eligible for parole.
Hollimon pleaded guilty to accessory to murder in November, admitting that he helped hide Damon Lamar Campbell, 26, after Campbell opened fire on a group of Hispanic men outside his home.
Louis Alberto Martinez, 32, was killed by a single gunshot in the head, and Carlos Villanueva, 28, was struck in the back and was paralyzed.
Last month a jury spared Campbell's life by giving him a no-parole life term for Martinez's death. He is still awaiting sentencing for the attempted murder of Villanueva.
Witnesses said Campbell, who is black, opened fire after saying that he didn't want to see any more Hispanics in his neighborhood.
Plea-agreement change refused
A Las Vegas man who claimed his attorney told him he would get the death penalty if he didn't sign a plea agreement was not allowed to back out of that plea agreement Wednesday.
District Judge Lee Gates ruled that Charles Felipa was never told he would get the death penalty in the beating death of his 2-year-old stepdaughter, Viridiana Lizeth Flore-Calvillo.
Instead, Gates said he believes Felipa pleaded guilty to second-degree murder to avoid the harsher punishment that comes with a conviction for first-degree murder.
Felipa faced a life term with or without the possibility of parole had he been convicted of first-degree murder. The death penalty was not being pursued.
Gates did allow Felipa, however, to fire his public defender, Kendric Bassett.
Defense attorney Liz Hatcher will represent Felipa at his Jan. 7 sentencing.
As a result of the plea agreement, Felipa will either receive a 10- to 25-year prison sentence or a life sentence with parole possible after 10 years.
Boy, 17, sent to youth camp
A 17-year-old Las Vegas boy was sent to a state youth training camp in Elko Wednesday for shooting his best friend in the head. The victim is on life support.
Defense attorney Osvaldo "Ozzie" Fumo said his client could be released as early as his 18th birthday or the state could keep him until he is 21.
The boy pleaded guilty last month in juvenile court to reckless endangerment in connection with the incident.
Fumo said the boys were taking drugs and drinking vodka on July 27 when they retrieved the suspect's father's guns from a locked gun box. The victim, Sean Thomas, loaded and unloaded a 9 mm, and his friend was in the process of taking the gun from him when it discharged. The lone bullet in the chamber struck Thomas in the forehead.
Fumo said his client didn't know that a bullet remained in the gun. After the shooting his client performed CPR and applied pressure to the wound until paramedics arrived, Fumo said.
NLV officer claims sex, age bias
A 50-year-old North Las Vegas Police officer has filed a federal age and sex discrimination suit against the police department and the city of North Las Vegas.
Patricia Willems, through her attorney Kenneth McKenna, alleges that a "sexually hostile and, or offensive work environment" has existed at the police department since 1992.
Willems, who joined the force in 1989 after spending 11 years as a police officer in Florida, claims she was passed over for promotion twice because of her age or sex.
The lawsuit states she placed third on a sergeants exam last year and was passed over for a younger woman who placed fifth. Earlier this year she again was number three on the list and didn't get any of the three sergeants positions that were open.
Willems claims she has been retaliated against for filing complaints with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
She is seeking unspecified damages.
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