Abigail Goldman

Story Archive

Not even prostitution is immune to economics of supply, demand: Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008; The pleasure of Stacie’s company used to cost $450 an hour, but no longer.
Lights out in the big house: Inmate blowback, black market feared when state goes tobaccoless; Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008; Prediction: July 1, 2009, is going to be a nasty day for thousands of Nevada residents. That’s the day the Nevada Department of Corrections bans all tobacco products, on all department grounds, for inmates and corrections officers alike.
Letters of sorrow and need: Teenage prostitutes write to a judge, often revealing more than they intended; Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008; Teenage prostitutes write Judge William Voy letters from detention before sentencing. Their pencil-scratch pleas for leniency are composed on ruled notebook paper, with spelling and grammar so shoddy it often speaks louder than the content of the letter — revealing the circumstances that lead a teenage girl into prostitution, one strained sentence at a time.
Hawking erotic services? Craigslist now has your number: Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008; Mahria is a “beautiful blonde” offering “erotic wrestling” for $100. Dru is charging $80 for an hour of “sensual massage.”
For Taser, suit ends in lose-one, win-one scenario: Jury finds negligence, but judge spares company $5 million punitive payout; Friday, Nov. 28, 2008; Three years ago in Salinas, Calif., police used Tasers to repeatedly shock 40-year-old Robert Heston.
Cops raise Taser safety claims: Metro officers hurt during training sue company, say warnings didn’t suffice; Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008; Several cops got on their knees on a rubber gym mat. Kneeling in a line, they linked arms, interlaced hands, and looked up. All they knew of what comes next is this: It’s going to smart.
Metro arrests retired San Diego FBI agent in connection with killing: Friday, Nov. 14, 2008; Metro Police have reportedly arrested a retired San Diego FBI agent in connection with a homicide. The police department's homicide section is expected to release a statement about the case shortly.
Big election day also a work day: A look at what it's like to be in the trenches with campaign workers and an election official; Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008; Election Day meant heavy lifting and shifting emotions for campaign workers and those responsible for ensuring a fair vote. The Sun spent the day with three of them.
When a recession hits home: Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008; Las Vegas is in a big hurt.
Cops' case against 'Suge' Knight stalled: Officers saw beating, but D.A. hasn't pressed case against rap mogul; Friday, Oct. 31, 2008; The latest case against hip-hop mogul Marion “Suge” Knight has not moved forward even though it appears rock solid, at least on the surface.
The other outrage in kidnapping case: With short supply of information, media latched on to red-hot details whispered by anonymous sources; Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008; The most dazzling details about Cole Puffinburger’s kidnapping were whispered into fact by nameless “sources and authorities.”
Violent biker gang stripped of emblem: But feds’ crackdown violates civil rights, ACLU says; Friday, Oct. 24, 2008; “Monster” and “Monk,” members of the Mongols motorcycle gang, were at Chuck E. Cheese’s family-friendly pizza restaurant in San Diego last year when they ran into a rival — a member of the Hells Angels.
Jutta Chambers, Henderson police chief: Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008; Jutta Chambers is the Henderson Police Department’s first female everything: officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and, now, police chief.
Insulting proposition: Principals in the case sought to sell contested memorabilia to Goldmans; Monday, Oct. 20, 2008; In the end, O.J. Simpson’s undoing fit into a few evidence boxes — suitcases of sports memorabilia worth a conviction and a collective sigh from the nation.
Police go preventive on violence in the home: Check-ins frequent, mandatory with highest-risk individuals; Friday, Oct. 10, 2008; This is a very exclusive club. Hip-hop baron Suge Knight’s a member. So is Edward Halverson, the man police say beat his wife, the suspended judge, half-blind with a frying pan.
Hard-to-swallow O.J. humor video salvaged: DVD company looks for market where one wasn’t before; Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008; Heeeeeere’s O.J. — standing next to a white Ford Bronco at a Las Vegas car dealership and selling the vehicle he “personally made famous” to customers caught on hidden camera.
New sex offender laws could rise out of limbo: More strict punishments are on hold; Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008; Last month the fight over Nevada’s new sex offender laws appeared to have ended. But the Walsh Act isn’t half-dead.
Violence, yes, but soon it won’t all be ‘domestic’: Definition in county will put focus on ‘intimate partners’; Monday, Oct. 6, 2008; They were old and tired and terminally ill, so they made a deal: murder-suicide, goodnight, goodbye.
Retired Metro officer under investigation found dead: Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008; Christopher Van Cleef, a retired Metro lieutenant, was discovered dead this morning near train tracks near his Henderson home, acquaintances say.
Henderson scammer acts naturally: Monday, Sept. 29, 2008; After years of trying to hack it as a musician, Henderson man Andy James got a new gig: Wire fraud, with the intent to furnish his house.
Ladies, get your guns: Women-only law enforcement shooting seminar intended to be intimidation-free; Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008; A lot of people don’t like Detective Antoine Lane. Most of them are fellow cops.
Lane is a firearms expert from Texas. He travels the country teaching police his technique. His specialized classes are consistently overbooked. And it’s these popular seminars that have quietly, privately, earned Lane the disdain of a certain circle of police.
TV reporter’s lawsuit raises question of media’s boundaries: Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008; You’ve seen it before: A TV news reporter wants to spice up a segment on cops and their guns, so she goes to the police firing range, puts down her microphone and picks up a semi-auto.
As a judge becomes victim, attitudes might change — a little: Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008; Will they applaud when she scoots through security? A so-sad-for-you smattering? A golf clap that — smack ... smack ... smack — swells into a standing ovation? A cheer for the villain come back as victim?
Another killer takes a shot at selling her stuff: Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008; Brookey Lee West stuffed her dead mother into a garbage can and left her in a Las Vegas storage unit until the remains were discovered by someone who couldn’t stand the smell.
Big decision after rape might get easier: New law seeks to preserve evidence, give victims time to decide whether to report; Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008; If you can bring yourself to call the police, or drive to the hospital, this is where you will end up: In the emergency room, tucked into a private examination area, half-naked, answering questions, posing for photographs and waiting for the pelvic exam to end.
Detective won’t let case of murdered Elvis die: Tribute artist, girlfriend were shot 15 years ago in Vegas ‘Mini-Graceland’; Monday, Sept. 8, 2008; Dana MacKay was a successful Elvis impersonator looking to leave the business. His girlfriend was a pageant queen, a divorced Mrs. Nevada, living with the King in a fixer-upper Vegas mansion they called “Mini-Graceland.”
When police arrived at the house, they found the couple dead on the floor, shot after coming home with groceries — laundry detergent, T-bone steaks, bananas and a box of Junior Mints.
Why attack on city bus met inaction: Bystanders in numbers tend to stand by, studies show; Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008; It looks like they’re having fun. Five young men, riding a city bus down Las Vegas Boulevard, taking turns punching another passenger out of his wallet. In some frames of the surveillance video, their faces are frozen in roller coaster free-fall thrill, smiling as sweetly as swampland salesmen. In other frames, they’re throwing fits of fists, then shoving, then smiling again.
Small landlords face big risks: As complexes screen for felons, individual owners also advised to; Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008; Pity the poor landlords. No, not those who manage massive apartment complexes, but the little guys, the residential landlords, the grandmas and single moms and second-home owners who rent out a room or an investment property on the side.
Assault case takes shine off DNA testing: Certainty of evidence has come into question; Friday, Aug. 29, 2008; Recently, small chinks in the armor of DNA evidence have been starting to show, casting pinholes of harsh light on a science people like to think is infallible.
Gary Telgenhoff: A CLARK COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER, MUSICIAN; Monday, Aug. 25, 2008; Gary Telgenhoff is a dark human being. He’s also a doctor. The Clark County medical examiner does autopsies by day and writes morose heavy-metal music by night, as the front man of band Skinner Rat.
Bike saddle study: What sits on the ‘nose’ suffers: But few want seat that may prevent impotence; Friday, Aug. 22, 2008; The world is cruel to a bicycle cop.
Misdial casino, you may get Mr. Refund: Calls meant for Vegas-based company go to accountant accused of playing tricks; Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008; At least on the surface, this is a fight about a number: 7.
Mystery cat woman is on mission; what is it?: She prowls at night to help — and maybe more; Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; The plan was to wait in the shadows until she showed up. And when she did, to signal a photographer to jump out and catch evidence of the crime: illegal trespassing with the intent to feed cats.
Rape still a crime where victim can share blame: State ‘contributory conduct’ rule used to deny financial assistance; Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008; Susan woke up with this guy all over her like an animal. By the time she realized what was happening, he had stopped. He let go of her shorts, looked at her and said, “I messed up real bad, didn’t I?” Then he told her to make him breakfast.
Metro turns up heat on metal thievery: Recycler raided; restrictions on the industry in works; Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008; Daily metal exchange rates are posted outside ABC Recycling on an erasable white board that explains just how much a scrap seller will get for whatever he drags in: clean aluminum, 65 cents a pound; dirty aluminum, 10 cents a pound; copper grades 1-5, $1.25 to $2.95 a pound, and the list goes on. It’s the Nasdaq of junk.
As economy drops off, so do robberies: Thank Metro Police, or supply and demand; Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008; The Taco Bandit’s reign is over. The robber pleaded guilty to holding up 10 Mexican restaurants. Now he’s spending at least 15 years in prison.
Just another Sunday at the county jail: Monday, Aug. 11, 2008
David Weddle: WRITER, “CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION”; Monday, Aug. 11, 2008; Rolodex in hand, writer David Weddle walked off the set of the hot science fiction show “Battlestar Galactica” last month and across the TV lot to his new gig, writing for “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” He was so nervous he broke a sweat.
Cops' answer to road hogs messy, mostly: Decade-old law aimed at aggressive drivers is rarely used because it’s tough to enforce; Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008; Prepare yourself for some Las Vegas logic: Here, in a city certain its motorists are the worst, getting a ticket for aggressive driving is almost impossible. Not because it doesn’t happen, but because it’s hard to fit the bill.
When renter pays, owner doesn’t: You’re out, tenant: Sunday, July 27, 2008; The six senior citizens were strung to IV drips in a Henderson home converted into a geriatric care facility.
Constables deliver bad news at their peril: Sunday, July 27, 2008; It’s like a sick sort of game show: What’s behind Door No. 1? Abandoned furniture? A man with a gun? A rabid bichon? A housewife wielding a frying pan?
Basketball campers left in lurch: Check for equipment was cashed, but nothing, not even net, was delivered; Friday, July 25, 2008; Welcome to basketball camp at Innovations International Charter School of Nevada, where you will learn to dribble, pass and defend, all without ever playing a full-court game.
Eye-opener with a pitch: TV news program tries product placement as revenue source; Monday, July 21, 2008; Oooooooh, they’re calling out your name.
Would-be Vegas hitman’s story ends in Irish jail: Card dealer’s strategy: Double-cross clients; Sunday, July 20, 2008; We all nurse private ambitions. Essam Ahmed Eid, a 53-year-old Egyptian man living in Vegas and dealing poker at the Bellagio, dreamed of becoming a hit man.
Check this account: Invitation puts monkey in the middle at bank: Saturday, July 19, 2008; So, a guy and a spider monkey walked into a bank. The smaller of the two primates was wearing a diaper, with a hole cut out for its tail, which made the monkey’s 10-minute dash through Washington Mutual on Valle Verde Drive at Paseo Verde Parkway in Henderson on Thursday all the more amusing.
Polygamy refugee steps into storm over church: Henderson woman tells of abuse, becomes vocal critic of the sect; Sunday, July 13, 2008; Clyde Mackert and his wives must have put on their best faces for the flashbulb. This was Life magazine, after all, coming to photograph them canning corn, and singing hymns, and scrambling eggs for breakfast, and all they had to do was show the world polygamy isn’t bad.
Mormon "stud" calendar causes problems: Friday, July 11, 2008
No single vein fits all serial killers: Friday, July 11, 2008; The serial killer is so misunderstood.
Metro CSI truck packs gee-whiz stuff: Investigators’ tools range from hair spray to high tech, not to mention grisly; Tuesday, July 8, 2008; Up until seven months ago, if there was a homicide somewhere in Clark County, Metro’s crime scene investigators would pile into an RV — the kind your grandparents dream of driving across the country, but a little more beat up — and head to the scene like it was some kind of creepy family trip, the cabinets stocked with body fluid test kits instead of hamburger buns
Metro Explorers win big: Monday, July 7, 2008