IN BRIEF
NEVADA SUPREME COURT
Maupin serving final month as chief justice
Nevada Supreme Court Justice William Maupin is back in a familiar role -- one that will allow him to end his legal career as chief justice.
The 62-year-old Maupin took over Sunday as the head of the seven-member state high court.
He'll keep the gavel until he ends his term at the end of the year.
Chief Justice Mark Gibbons yielded the last month of his term, calling it fitting that Maupin retire as chief justice.
Maupin says he's overwhelmed by the gesture.
Maupin was elected to the Supreme Court in 1996 after 22 years practicing public and private civil and criminal law and three years as a Clark County District Court judge.
He previously served as chief justice in 2000 and 2001.
Under the Nevada Constitution, only justices in the last two years of their six-year term can serve as chief justice.
CRUSHED BY TV
Valley toddler killed on Thanksgiving ID'd
The 2-year-old boy crushed by a falling TV on Thanksgiving Day has been identified by the Clark County coroner's office as Rafael Lopez.
The boy's death was caused by blunt force trauma of the head due to crushing by heavy weight in what has been ruled an accident by the coroner's office.
It is unclear whether he lived in the home where the incident occurred, in the 5700 block of Cedar Avenue, near Nellis Boulevard and Stewart Avenue.
The boy was pronounced dead Thursday night at University Medical Center.
A man who lived at the home where the accident occurred declined to comment Monday night, saying in Spanish that he didn't want to re-live the painful incident.
He didn't disclose his relationship with the victim.
Las Vegas police spokesman Bill Cassell said a "pretty good sized" television fell from some kind of platform onto the boy.
"There was a little bit of velocity by the time it got down to where the child was," Cassell said.
Cassell said the department's Abuse and Neglect Detail is still investigating the incident, but officers who responded to the house described it as an accident.
"It appeared to be a tragic accident," Cassell said.
INFORMATION SOUGHT
Coroner releases name of stabbing victim
Erika Mateos-Hernandez has been identified by the Clark County coroner's office as the woman found dead near Paradise and Desert Inn roads last week.
The 24-year-old's body was found in an apartment at 3675 Cambridge St. about 7:10 a.m. Nov. 23. The death from multiple stab wounds was ruled a homicide.
Las Vegas police did not have any motives or suspects as of Monday afternoon.
Police continued to investigate and asked that anyone with information on the case call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555, or the Metropolitan Police Department Homicide Section at 828-3521.
DEATH RULED ACCIDENT
24-year-old man killed in crash is identified
The 24-year-old driver who died Thursday when he crashed into a light pole near Washington Avenue and Christy Lane has been identified by the Clark County coroner's office as Brock A. Jackson of Henderson.
Jackson was killed about 3:40 a.m. after he lost control of the 1993 Ford Thunderbird he was driving. His death, which was ruled an accident, was the result of blunt force injuries to his abdomen, according to the coroner's office.
Jackson was pronounced dead at University Medical Center. The two passengers in the car were not injured.
CORONER ID'S VICTIM
Pedestrian hit, killed by car was 59-year-old
The man struck and killed by a car on Desert Inn Road near Maryland Parkway on Nov. 16 was identified by the Clark County coroner's office as Lawrence LaSalle.
Las Vegas police said the 59-year-old pedestrian was hit after he stepped outside a crosswalk near an intersection and was hit by a 1997 Honda Accord. LaSalle was pronounced dead at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.
LaSalle's death, the result of multiple blunt force trauma, was ruled an accident by the coroner's office.
RENAMED RED RIBBON ROAD
Highway 157 used in Stop DUI campaign
Local officials on Monday dedicated 22 miles of Highway 157 to the cause at the heart of National Drunk & Drugged Driving Prevention Month, which is observed in December.
The road -- once among the most dangerous in the state -- will be lined with red ribbons tied on white mile markers to raise awareness about drunken driving and remind motorists to stay sober, according to Stop DUI, a nonprofit group.
Local authorities, officials and victims of impaired drivers gathered for the ceremony at the base of Kyle Canyon Road and U.S. Highway 95. They renamed Highway 157 as Red Ribbon Road.
