IN BRIEF

CARELESS SMOKING SUSPECTED

Man dies of injuries from February fire

A man in his mid-40s died Saturday from burns received in a truck fire a month ago.

Witnesses said the man, whose name was not available, was sleeping in his pickup in the parking lot of Larry's Great Western Meats, on Valley View Boulevard near Alta Drive on Feb. 8 when he suddenly got out of the truck with his clothing on fire, the Las Vegas Fire Department reported.

Firefighters responded and took the man to University Medical Center.

Investigators believe the fire was accidental, possibility the result of careless smoking, according to the Fire Department. The only part of the truck that was burned was a small portion of the seat.

RENO INCIDENT

Trial date is set in Halloween shootings

A 19-year-old man awaits trial Nov. 3 after pleading not guilty to murder charges stemming from the shooting deaths of three young men at a college Halloween party in Reno.

With several relatives watching, Samisoni Taukitoku was arraigned Friday in Washoe County District Court on three counts of murder and four counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

He remains at the Washoe County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

Taukitoku is accused of fatally shooting snowboarder Charles Kelly, 21, of Truckee, Calif.; University of Nevada, Reno student Derek Jensen, 23, of Reno; and former UNR student Nathan Viljoen, 23, of Sparks.

Police said Taukitoku, Saili Manu and two teenage relatives crashed the Oct. 28 party at a Reno home rented by UNR students.

Manu, 19, is set to be sentenced in August after he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He remains at the county jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.