IN BRIEF
retirement home incident
Identity of man killed in grease fire released
The man who died after a late-night grease fire at a retirement home Tuesday has been identified as 75-year-old Sie Singleton of Las Vegas.
Firefighters from the Las Vegas Fire Department were called to the Ruby Duncan Manor at 500 W. Owens Ave., near D Street, at 10:27 p.m.
When they arrived, the fire was out and Singleton was unconscious on the floor.
He was taken to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Investigators believe his death was caused by a grease fire that spread to his clothes.
CAUSE OF DEATH SOUGHT
Man found dead at Lorenzi Park is ID'd
The man found dead on the roof of a restroom at Lorenzi Park last week has been identified as 38-year-old Francisco Diaz.
Las Vegas police were called about 7:15 a.m. Aug. 20 to the park at 3200 Washington Ave., near Rancho Drive.
Police, who believe Diaz was homeless, don't believe his death was suspicious and aren't treating it as a homicide.
The Clark County coroner's office is awaiting toxicology results before determining a manner and cause of death in the case.
STATE ROUTE 160
Driver dies when SUV overturns in median
A man was killed when his sport utility vehicle overturned on state Route 160 on Friday morning.
The man, whose name was not available, was driving a Ford Explorer north near mile marker 40 about 9:40 a.m. when the vehicle drifted into the dirt median, Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Kevin Honea said.
The man steered sharply to the right, and his vehicle overturned in the median, Honea said.
The driver wasn't wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
BULLHEAD CITY CASE
41-year-old man gets prison in 2007 slaying
A 16-year prison term was imposed Friday in a Kingman, Ariz., courtroom in a slaying that occurred along the Colorado River in Bullhead City.
Matthew McCalman, 41, was convicted of second-degree murder in the November 2007 death of Douglas Gardner, 50.
Mohave County Superior Court Judge Steve Conn told McCalman his claim of self-defense was inconsistent with the prolonged act of strangulation.
Prosecutor Matt Smith also challenged the self-defense claim, noting that McCalman hid Gardner's body by dragging it into the brush and only claimed the victim attacked him when he was arrested two days after the slaying.
WASHOE COUNTY
Human case of West Nile is investigated
Health officials are investigating the first human case of West Nile virus this year in Washoe County.
The Washoe District Health Department said a resident younger than 50 has been hospitalized with a milder form of the virus.
Earlier this month, Nevada's first human case of West Nile this year was reported in Lyon County, and officials reported they were investigating the first "probable" human case of the virus this year in the Las Vegas area.
Twelve human cases were reported in Nevada in 2007.
West Nile is transmitted by mosquito bites. Authorities have encouraged residents to use insect repellent and eliminate areas of standing water.
Most people who are infected have no symptoms or what appears to be a mild flu.
COLONIES AT PEAK
Officials issue warning about yellow jackets
Nevada Department of Agriculture officials have issued a warning to outdoor enthusiasts about a threat lurking primarily in forested areas: yellow jackets.
They say yellow jacket colonies are at their peak and are proliferating this season, especially at certain sites around Lake Tahoe.
Yellow jackets are attracted to meat at campsites because their food sources start getting more scarce.
Officials urged people to avoid swinging at the insects, saying it could unleash a defense pheromone that can signal other yellow jackets to attack.
Officials recommend that people place a small piece of fish or meat away from camps and picnic areas to keep yellow jackets away.
Hikers also are being urged to watch where they step to avoid ground-nesting yellow jackets.
1985 DISAPPEARANCE
Radar used to search for missing couple
Homicide investigators used ground-penetrating radar Friday in San Marino, Calif., to determine whether the bones of a long-vanished couple were buried in the backyard.
Newlyweds Jonathan and Linda Sohus lived in the home before vanishing in 1985. In 1994, workers building a pool for the new owners unearthed a man's bones that remain unidentified.
The investigation was reignited this month with the kidnapping arrest in Baltimore of a man calling himself Clark Rockefeller, who authorities say is actually a German national named Christian Gerhartsreiter. Authorities say he was living in a guest house on the Sohuses' property using the name Christopher Chichester when the couple disappeared.
Authorities used the radar to scan the yard for "anomalies," sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
Crews were expected to finish the scanning by the end of the day but did not plan to release the result unless it came up as evidence in court.
Gerhartsreiter has not been charged with any California crime but is a "person of interest" in the case of the couple's disappearance.
