Thursday, March 3, 2005 | 9:43 a.m.
Cadillac crashes into concrete wall
Two elderly Las Vegas residents were in critical condition this morning after the car they were riding in struck a concrete wall Wednesday night, Metro Police said.
Witnesses told police the 1998 Cadillac DeVille driven by George Wilshire, 77, was turning left from Nigul Way onto Desert Inn Road about 7 p.m. Wednesday when the car left the road and crashed into a concrete block wall on the south side of Desert Inn.
Metro detectives are investigating what caused the crash, which also left his passenger, 75-year-old Ann Wilshire, in critical condition at University Medical Center this morning.
Arrests made in alleged car scam
A company that allegedly scammed millions of dollars in the leasing of luxury cars was busted Wednesday, police said.
Detectives from the Metro Police Fraud Unit and the FBI arrested Ghani Ahsan and Sharaz Naz -- also known respectively as Guy Atkins and David Ali -- on charges of bank fraud, police said. Ahsan and Naz ran Lease Boyz Toyz.
Police said that Ahsan and Naz managed an elaborate scam in which investors bought cars and gave them to Lease Boyz Toyz. The cars were then subleased for large cash deposits and steep monthly payments to people who were unable to obtain credit.
Police said they were alerted to the alleged scam when banks reported Naz and Ahsan failed to make payments on the car purchases and investors complained they weren't receiving their monthly returns.
Attempts to contact Lease Boyz Toyz Wednesday evening were unsuccessful.
Reward offered in tree vandalism
Sun City Anthem residents are putting up a $10,000 reward to try to help police capture the vandal who is cutting down trees in the Henderson neighborhood.
The Sun City Anthem Homeowners Association authorized the reward in response to someone cutting down dozens of trees for the second time in three months.
Henderson Police spokesman Keith Paul said the investigation is continuing.
The latest tree cutting occurred Feb. 19 or Feb. 20 when more than 50 trees were cut off near their bases near Sun City Anthem Drive and Thunder Bay Avenue. More than 30 trees were cut down by a vandal in November.
The association estimates the damage at more than $75,000.
The association plans to replace the trees by the end of March to give the new trees a chance to grow before the summer heat, West said.
No appeals made against new school
The Clark County School District will get its middle school in North Las Vegas.
A deadline passed Wednesday without any residents appealing a Feb. 23 decision of the Planning Commission to allow the Carroll M. Johnston Middle School at the southwest corner of Tropical Parkway and Lawrence Street.
A resident appealed a ruling by the commission in October, and the council overturned the planning board in December. That prompted the district to submit revised plans to the city that moved a bus pickup and drop-off zone from the south side of the property to the north side where there are no homes.
The district did not go along with the request of some residents to redesign its plans and move the school buildings to the north side of the 18-acre property. Residents are worried about additional traffic and parking problems in their neighborhood.
Plans call for the school, which will have a capacity to handle 1,700 students, to open in August 2006.
Two men shot at apartment complex
Two men were shot on East Sahara Avenue near Nellis Boulevard on Wednesday night after a fight broke out at the Sahara Gardens apartment complex, Metro Police said.
Police said both victims will survive their wounds. One victim, a 21-year-old, was shot in the back, possibly with a shotgun, and taken to Sunrise Hospital while the second victim, 24, was shot in the foot and treated at the scene.
Metro's gang crimes detectives are investigating.
Police were called to the complex at 4801 E. Sahara Ave. about 8:45 p.m. after residents reported hearing gunshots, Lt. Richard Collins of the gang crimes section said. Shortly after the shooting, police took a man into custody for questioning. Police said he was either a witness or possible suspect.
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