IN BRIEF

SAHARA POKER ROOM

LV police hope picture helps identify robber

Las Vegas police on Tuesday released an image of a man suspected of robbing an employee of the Sahara at gunpoint last week.

The man, between 20 and 30 years old, used a firearm to take between $4,000 and $5,000 from an employee working the counter of the poker room, Lt. Clint Nichols said.

Police described the suspect as a white male of thin build with a thin moustache. He was wearing blue jeans, a brown or green hooded sweatshirt with lettering down the front left side and a yellow baseball cap.

Police said the man entered the Sahara about 5:30 p.m. and loitered for about 20 minutes before committing the robbery. He fled north on Las Vegas Boulevard.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Las Vegas police at 828-3591 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

VICTIM UNIDENTIFIED

Henderson police investigate slaying

A 32-year-old man was found slain in his Henderson home Monday, police said.

A friend of the victim went to the house in the 700 block of Solitude Point Avenue to care for the victim's pets. The slain man was supposed to be out of town. The friend found the dead man after entering the home, near Horizon Ridge and Paseo Verde parkways.

Henderson police did not identify the victim Tuesday.

According to police, the cause of the man's death was not obvious but later autopsy results indicated he was killed.

The ongoing investigation has not yet turned up suspects or motives.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Henderson Police Department at 267-4750 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

APPROVED BY LEGISLATORS

Judges to receive pay increases in January

Nevada judges will be getting a hefty pay raise Jan. 1, despite the state's budget crisis.

Under increases approved by the 2007 Legislature, District Court and Supreme Court judges will get an extra $30,000 per year. That will bring annual compensation for justices to $170,000, and district judges to $160,000.

Officials say the increases will cost the state about $2.8 million a year.

When compared to judicial salaries for the 50 states, the raises will put Nevada Supreme Court salaries among the 10 highest in the nation and the District Court salaries in the top five.

That salary ranking, compiled by the National Center for State Courts, listed salaries as of Jan. 1, 2008, and a number of other states have since increased the pay of their judges as well.

It's the first pay raise Nevada's judges have received since the 2001 Legislature.

Jim Hardesty, incoming chief justice for the Supreme Court, said the percentage pay raise for judges was slightly lower than what state workers have received over that same eight-year period.

INTELLIGENCE ANALYST

Reno Iraq veteran awarded Bronze Star

Former Army Sgt. Matthew Bromley said he was just doing his job when he helped identify dozens of terrorists while serving in Iraq.

On Monday, he was honored with the Bronze Star at a ceremony at the Veterans Administration office in Reno.

The medal was given for "exceptional and meritorious service during combat operations in Iraq."

Bromley was an intelligence analyst attached to Army Special Forces.

He is in the Nevada National Guard, pursuing a degree in environmental sciences at University of Nevada, Reno.

SEASONAL INFLUENZA

First flu case confirmed in Washoe County

Flu season has officially arrived in Washoe County.

The Washoe District Health Department reported the first, culture-confirmed case of seasonal influenza.

Health officials said getting an annual flu vaccine is the best way to avoid getting sick.