In Brief

LAS VEGAS HOMICIDE

Police hunt suspect after man shot, killed near downtown

Las Vegas police homicide detectives are looking for a suspect who shot and killed a man Thursday in a neighborhood near downtown Las Vegas.

The man was shot multiple times on the 700 block of Jefferson Avenue at 3:18 p.m., police said. Witnesses told investigators they heard an argument between the victim and another person coming from the victim's apartment shortly before the shooting.

Police do not have a description of the suspect. The victim's name was not released.

Anybody with information on the killing is encouraged to call the homicide section at 828-3521 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 385-5555.

INDIAN SPRINGS PRISON

Former corrections officer pleads guilty in bribery case

A former Nevada corrections officer Thursday pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempting to receive a bribe.

Patrick Ahching agreed to plead guilty after striking a deal with the state attorney general's office.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dropped three felony charges of furnishing a controlled substance to a state prisoner, requesting or receiving a bribe, and unlawfully possessing a controlled substance.

Ahching worked as a corrections officer at the Southern Desert Correctional Center in Indian Springs when he was arrested in July 2007. According to court records, Ahching admitted he was given $500 to bring drugs and jewelry into the prison.

The former prison guard was an informant in the federal government's case against the white supremacist prison gang, the Aryan Warriors.

Ahching faces a minimum of probation or up to four years in prison, prosecutor Thom Gover said.

EAST VALLEY KILLING

Slain bicyclist identified as 59-year-old Las Vegas man

The Las Vegas man gunned down while riding a bicycle in the east valley earlier this week was identified Thursday by the Clark County coroner's office as Michael A. Santori, 59.

Las Vegas police described the killing as senseless. Santori was slain about 9:24 p.m. Tuesday near Vegas Valley Drive and Nellis Boulevard.

"We don't know what the motive is right now," Homicide Sgt. Russell Shoemaker said. "We're following leads."

The coroner's office said Santori was shot multiple times. Shoemaker said Thursday afternoon that police have identified multiple witnesses.

Police said Santori had left an Albertsons shopping center and was traveling east on Vegas Valley before he was shot. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A manager at an apartment complex near Lamb Boulevard and Vegas Valley who did not want to be named said Santori once lived there but moved out in 2008. She said Santori worked as a mechanic and had several cars from the 1980s that he worked on at the complex.

"He was a quiet resident who tried to pay his rent on time," she said.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555 or the Las Vegas police Homicide Section at 828-3521.

NORTH LAS VEGAS AIRPORT

FAA strips license from pilot who crashed into traffic

The Federal Aviation Administration has revoked the license of a pilot who crashed a plane into traffic outside the North Las Vegas Airport in October.

The agency found that Koshi Ono's application for a medical certificate was denied a week before the ill-fated Oct. 30 flight. Pilots must possess a pilot's license and a medical certificate to be authorized to fly.

Because he flew without the certificate, officials this week deemed the act "reckless" and revoked his license. Officials would not release the reason why the medical certificate was denied.

The plane, a Dragonfly Mark II experimental aircraft, was owned by a student pilot. The student was in the passenger's seat, and Ono, a certified flight instructor, was flying the aircraft when it departed the North Las Vegas Airport.

The plane struck a runway light before becoming airborne. The plane made a right turn and descended into traffic on Rancho Drive, striking the roof of a passing Chevrolet Tahoe and skidding across six lanes of traffic before stopping.

Ono suffered serious injuries in the crash. The student had minor injuries. Nobody else was injured.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the agency took more than two months to revoke the pilot's license because it had to follow the pilot's due process rights.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are still investigating.