IN BRIEF

MOTHER, DAUGHTER ATTACKED

Police release sketch of suspect in sexual assault

Las Vegas police are looking for a man suspected of sexually assaulting a woman and her juvenile daughter in the northwest valley on Tuesday.

The attack occurred about 6 a.m.

Police did not provide additional details of the assault.

The suspect is described as a black man in his 20s. He has black hair and brown eyes, police said. His height is described as between 5 feet 8 inches and 6 feet tall. He has a medium build, and has acne or razor bumps on his face, police said.

Anyone with information about the suspect is urged to call Las Vegas police's Sexual Assault Detail at 828-3421 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

NEAR DURANGO AND CRAIG

Man shot in hip during home invasion; two suspects sought

A man was shot in the hip early Wednesday after two suspects broke into his northwest valley home, Las Vegas police said.

Police spokesman Marcus Martin said the incident occurred shortly after midnight on the 8600 block of Queens Brook Court, near Durango Drive and Craig Road. The home invasion is believed to be random, Martin said.

Martin said a 44-year-old man was in his house when two armed suspects walked into the home through an unlocked front door.

He said the suspects demanded money. They also wanted to know where the home's safe was, Martin said.

The victim told the suspects he had neither. That's when one of the suspects searched the home for valuables while the other suspect watched over the man at gunpoint.

Later, the man was able to escape and call police from a neighbor's house, but not before he was shot in the hip with a 40-caliber gun. The victim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, Martin said.

He described the first suspect as 6-foot-1, black and wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt. The second suspect is about 5-foot-9, black and wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt with white tennis shoes. Both are between 20 and 25.

Police aren't sure what was taken from the home, Martin said.

PLEADS NOT GUILTY

Beating death suspect could face capital punishment

A 47-year-old Las Vegas man, who on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in the beating death of a 68-year-old man , could face capital punishment.

Will Sitton and Jacquie Schafer, 46, are charged with multiple felonies including murder, robbery and burglary in connection with the death of Brian Haskell last fall.

Prosecutor Christopher Lalli said the case will be reviewed by the district attorney's death penalty committee.

Schafer's arraignment was delayed a week after her attorney withdrew because she could no longer afford him.

Haskell was found dead in November in his condominium near Rainbow and Oakey boulevards, but authorities believe his death might have occurred in October.

A third defendant, Sitton's brother, Robert Sitton, testified against the two during a preliminary hearing in March.

Robert Sitton, 33, in February pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of a victim 60 or older and conspiracy.

During the preliminary hearing, Robert Sitton said that through a drunken haze, which included blackouts, he remembered seeing Will Sitton and Schafer beat Haskell.

SPECIAL MEETING SCHEDULED

North Las Vegas council looks at budget cuts, possible layoffs

North Las Vegas has scheduled a special City Council meeting tonight to discuss the city's ongoing budget problems and potentially give the acting city manager authorization to begin laying off employees to save money.

The 6 p.m. meeting will be held at City Hall, 2200 Civic Center Drive.

The financially strapped city announced in February it might have to cut up to 273 jobs to save the additional $33.4 million in general fund monies it needs to make it through 2011.

The layoffs would touch most city departments.

Maryann Ustick, North Las Vegas's acting city manager, said she doesn't expect the city's financial outlook to improve any time soon.

"This is not a one-year problem," she said. "There's no question we'll be talking about this again, given our grim budget conditions."

The city has undergone five rounds of budget cuts totaling $51 million since December 2008. It has already eliminated or frozen dozens of positions .

North Las Vegas is engaged in ongoing negotiations with its employee unions in hopes of stemming layoffs.