IN BRIEF
ROBBERY SPREE
Four teens arrested after crime wave
Las Vegas police arrested four teens after an early morning robbery spree that included a gunman firing shots at a convenience store.
The crime wave started about 1 a.m. when five men in a dark vehicle robbed a pedestrian at the corner of Decatur Boulevard and Washington Avenue, officer Ramon Denby said.
The group then robbed a 7-Eleven on Sahara Avenue and Jones Boulevard before hitting a Circle K store on Decatur and Desert Inn Road, he said.
Officers caught up to the teens about 6 a.m. at a 7-Eleven near Rancho and Vegas drives. One of the teens fired shots while trying to escape, Denby said.
Police arrested four from the group and were searching for the fifth. No one was hurt in the spree.
Denby did not release the names of the teens because they are juveniles.
PLAYED ROLE IN 2002 SLAYNG
Man gets more time in jail for possessing gun
A 24-year-old man once imprisoned for his role in a 2002 Las Vegas slaying was sentenced to spend up to five years in prison for unlawfully possessing a gun.
District Judge Valerie Adair sentenced Christopher Divich to the 18- to 60-month sentence after Las Vegas authorities caught him with a firearm in December.
When he was 16, Divich was involved in the killing of 36-year-old Timothy Herman with another teen, Sean Hazlehurst and a 21-year-old woman named Jamie Hein.
Divich and Hazlehurst pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon and were sentenced to four- to 10 year prison sentences. Divich served about six years.
Hein was convicted of second-degree murder.
JOHN HERDA SLAYING
Woman avoids jail after pleading guilty
The ex-girlfriend of the man convicted of killing Las Vegas businessman John Herda avoided prison time Tuesday in District Court.
District Judge Jackie Glass sentenced Allison Kiel to 26 months to 10 years in prison after Kiel pleaded guilty to robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary. Glass then suspended the sentence.
Authorities accused Kiel of going on a crime spree with Bryan Crawley, who was convicted of first-degree murder in Herda's 2006 slaying and was sentenced to spend life in prison without the possibility of release.
Kiel testified against Crawley during his November trial in District Court.
Herda founded Herda's Discount TV and Appliance.
NORTHEAST VALLEY SLAYING
18-year-old shooting victim identified
A man killed in a northeast valley shooting Monday evening was identified as Jose Jimenez of Las Vegas.
The 18-year-old died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Clark County coroner's office
Las Vegas police responded to the 4700 block of Cessna Avenue, near Craig Road and Nellis Boulevard, after neighbors reported gunshots about 5:15 p.m.
Officers arrived and found Jimenez dead.
MEDICAID BOOST
Nevada to get extra stimulus funds
Nevada's human services chief said Tuesday that the state will get about $84 million in stimulus funds in the next few days thanks to a boost in the federal matching rate for Medicaid.
Mike Willden said the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage funds include about $44 million to be applied to the calendar quarter that ended Dec. 31, and the rest for the quarter that ended March 31.
The funds represent Medicaid costs covered by the federal government. Nevada's percentage had been set at 50 percent, but the stimulus package temporarily increased that to about 64 percent, resulting in the additional money.
Nevada will get the increased rate through late 2010. The Division of Health Care Financing and Policy estimates the increase will mean a $164 million boost in federal aid to the state in the next two fiscal years.
RETIRED STATE EMPLOYEES
Lawmakers consider restricting consultants
Nevada lawmakers are considering a bill that would restrict state agencies from hiring retired state employees as consultants.
State Controller Kim Wallin told the Assembly Government Affairs Committee that of the 780 consultants hired by the state, a sampling shows that several are being paid as consultants while they continue to get state paychecks.
AB463 also would require agencies to report who was hired and what they were paid.
Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, said she attended a workshop run by state-hired consultants where participants made collages from magazines.
In Smith's words: "We spend thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, on these meetings and we make collages. Where is the accountability there?"
