Nevada briefs

     Ex-police officer's
     murder trial delayed
     
      RENO -- The May 5 trial for an ex-Miami police officer accused of killing two Reno women has been delayed.
      Washoe District Judge Peter Breen on Friday postponed the trial of David Middleton, 35, to give defense attorneys a chance to review lengthy police reports on the case.
      Prosecutors and defense lawyers will meet within the next few weeks to set a new trial date.
      The trial, which is expected to last as long as six weeks, now could begin in August or September, Breen said.
      Middleton has pleaded innocent to charges he killed Sun Valley Elementary School teacher Katherine Powell and Circus Circus employee Thelma Amparo Davila.
      Breen said he also would hold a hearing on why prosecutors did not give defense lawyers more than 2,500 pages of police reports earlier. Prosecutors said they just found out about the additional reports.
      Powell disappeared from her Sun Valley home in February 1995 and was later found in a Reno trash bin. Davila disappeared from her Sparks home in August 1994 and was found in 1995 near Verdi.
     
     Source of odor
     remains mystery
     
      RENO -- A test of air samples has failed to detect the source of a mysterious odor that forced Huffaker Elementary School to close all last week.
      School officials hope a test of bacteria and microorganism samples will pinpoint its source. Microbiology results won't be available for as long as two weeks.
      Huffaker, a year-round school, begins its regularly scheduled three-week break this week. School officials haven't decided if students will make up the five missed days of school.
      Dr. James Craner, an occupational medicine physician who collected microbiological samples for evaluation at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said he wasn't surprised air samples came back clean.
      "Although the people described a chemical odor, the symptoms and distribution and sequence of events didn't go along with organic chemical exposure," he said. "It's more in tune with a microbiological cause."
      The odor, resembling nail polish remover, was detected on March 3 by the school librarian, who went home sick. School Principal Vincent Ames, three teachers and several students also have complained of symptoms.
     
     Last of quadruplets
     rejoins family
     
      RENO -- Four months after their birth, the quadruplets of Joe and Stephanie Peri are all home.
      Three of the babies left their incubators at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center when they were 6 weeks old.
      On Friday -- exactly four months after their birth -- the tiniest of the quads joined her two brothers and sister.
      "I feel like she's been slighted for three months," Stephanie Peri said of daughter Morgan, who came home Friday hooked up to oxygen.
      "It's going to be a challenge," added Joe Peri, a Reno dentist whose job is cooking dinner when he gets home. "But it's worth it. There's meaning to our lives now."
      The Peris said they're lucky because all four are thriving and putting on weight.
      Spencer, who at 2 pounds, 13 ounces weighed the most at birth, now is the heaviest at 10 pounds. Morgan, who tipped the scales at 1 pound, 3 ounces, now is up to 5 pounds.
     
     Hit-and-run accident
     leaves man critical
     
      RENO -- A hit-and-run traffic accident in Reno has left one man in the hospital with critical injuries and another man in jail.
      Police said motorcyclist Thomas Svane was heading south Friday night on South Virginia Street near Caliente Street when a Chevrolet Blazer turned left into his path.
      The collision left Svane with a broken leg, and severe chest and head injuries. He was listed in critical condition Saturday afternoon at Washoe Medical Center.
      Police said the Blazer driver fled the scene and was followed by two witnesses.
      Pierre Lamassonne, 40, of Reno, was arrested about an hour later near the Peppermill Hotel Casino for investigation of hit and run, and reckless driving.
      Alcohol was not a factor in the 7:58 p.m. accident, police said.