IN BRIEF

RED FLAG EXERCISES

Nellis to conduct air combat training

Military jets will be flying out of Nellis Air Force Base by the dozens in the next two weeks as the base conducts another Red Flag air combat training exercise over the sprawling Nellis range north of the Las Vegas Valley.

The exercise over the 15,000-square-mile training range begins Monday and will end July 24. During that time, about 50 warplanes will depart Nellis twice a day between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., base officials said in a news release.

This Red Flag exercise is one of a series conducted by the Air Force Warfare Center and the base through the 414th Combat Training Squadron.

Participating with U.S. aircraft will be planes from the United Kingdom and Israeli air forces. U.S. military planes include F-15s, F-16s, E-3s and KC-135s from South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, Oklahoma and Ohio and aircraft from the Nellis and Creech bases in Nevada. In all, 62 aircraft will be involved in the exercise.

This will be the third Red Flag exercise this year with a fourth scheduled Aug. 27 through Sept. 7.

PASSED OUT IN RESTROOM

Inmate who died in custody identified

The Clark County Detention Center inmate who died in custody Tuesday has been identified as 65-year-old Las Vegas resident Jorge Ponce.

Las Vegas police said Ponce was booked at the detention center on multiple felony charges June 22. Because he had a pre-existing medical condition, he was housed in the facility's medical ward.

Early Monday, Ponce passed out in a jail restroom. Detention center personnel began rendering aid. He was taken to University Medical Center where he died Tuesday.

The Clark County coroner's office has not released the cause of his death.

WOMAN WAS STABBED

Coroner identifies body found after fire

The body of a woman found in a burned-out apartment near Tropicana Avenue and Boulder Highway on Tuesday was identified by the Clark County coroner's office as 32-year-old Las Vegas resident Lucresia Espinoza.

Las Vegas police said it appears that Espinoza died from a stab wound. Homicide detectives are investigating the death.

The fire was reported at 5:14 a.m. and involved a single unit of the complex at 5701 Missouri Ave., said Clark County Fire Department spokesman Scott Allison.

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 385-5555.