IN BRIEF

EIGHT BUSINESSES HIT

Man sentenced to prison in robbery spree

A 35-year-old gunman convicted of going on a crime spree last spring was sentenced Thursday to more than four decades in federal prison.

Enrique Hurtado, of Las Vegas, hit eight different businesses including gas stations, a small casino, convenience stores and banks, during the series of crimes during a five-day period ending March 17, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Hurtado, who was convicted after a three-day trial last summer, fired a gun at a cage inside the Opera House casino, narrowly missing the cashier, according to court reports. In another instance, he cracked a cashier in the head with brass knuckles.

His spree ended after he robbed a Nevada Federal Credit Union and attempted to escape in his Cadillac, leading authorities on a high-speed chase. Hurtado wrecked his vehicle and was arrested.

He was convicted of robbery and weapons charges along with being a deported alien unlawfully in the country. Hurtado was sentenced to 441/2 years in prison.

AID FOR MOTORCYCLISTS

Engineering contest winners announced

A contraption that makes it easier for motorcyclists to ride at night took the grand prize in UNLV's student engineering competition.

The invention was one of 13 put on display Wednesday by senior engineering students.

The winning team of student designers -- Susan Doucet, Steven Hughes and Cameron MacAdams -- will split the $2,500 prize.

The competition is held twice each year and features products built by graduating engineers.

The winning design featured small lights that allow motorcyclists to see where they are going when turning at night. Typically, motorcycle headlights point straight ahead.

SEXUAL ABUSE

Arizona man gets 30-year term in case

A Kingman, Ariz., man who sexually abused his stepchildren for years was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday in Mohave County Superior Court.

John Kruse, 34, admitted that he committed crimes and should be punished but said that he thought the sentence was overly harsh.

Superior Court Judge Steve Conn responded that he has imposed lesser sentences on killers, but that Kruse would certainly have gotten a life sentence if he had gone to trial and been convicted. Kruse pled guilty to six offenses related to the molestation of his wife's daughter and son, abuse that began when the children were both under the age of 13.

The female victim claims the child she bore at the age of 17 is Kruse's son. The victims told authorities Kruse made them have sex with each other and with him.