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At the time, it looked like a tragic case of self-defense. In May, Thomas Randolph said he shot and killed an armed intruder in his Las Vegas home, but not before the man gunned down Randolph's wife.

But the case took an unexpected turn Thursday, when Randolph was arrested in Utah and charged with orchestrating both deaths.

Police believe Randolph hired Michael James Miller to kill his wife, Sharon Clausse Randolph, then killed Miller after the job was done.

Authorities said Randolph wanted his wife dead to collect more than $400,000 in insurance.

And this wasn't the first time one of Randolph's wives had met an early end.

Randolph, 53, has been married six times. Four of his wives are dead, authorities said.

About two decades ago, a jury acquitted him of murder in the death of his previous wife, Becky Randolph. She died from a single gunshot wound to the head, and Randolph collected $250,000 in insurance payouts after her death, according to news reports.

MONDAY

CAR SALES IN THE TANK

Local dealers reported a 54 percent drop in car and truck sales over the past year.

Two local car lots closed down last year, and one longtime auto dealer said business in December was the worst it has been "in our lifetime."

"Even the used car market has gone soft," dealership owner Jim Marsh said.

TUESDAY

GUARD GETS CALL

Military officials confirmed that more than 630 Nevada National Guard soldiers will be sent to Afghanistan in the spring. It will be the largest overseas deployment of citizen-soldiers from the state since World War II.

One commander said the Nevada soldiers are being sent on "a very serious, complex and essentially a dangerous mission."

WEDNESDAY

TAKING IT TO THE STREET

More than 50 West Las Vegans and supporters marched from F Street to City Hall to voice their indignation over plans to permanently close the street under Interstate 15.

City Councilman turned Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly said the controversy could have been avoided with more communication and meetings with residents of the mostly black neighborhood accessed by F Street.

Current plans call for the road to permanently dead-end at I-15, which is undergoing $240 million in improvements.

THURSDAY

GIBBONS EYES PAY CUTS

Gov. Jim Gibbons is planning to include a 6 percent cut in pay for state employees, including teachers, in his proposed budget, a source in state government said.

Angry representatives from public employee unions said slashing salaries is not the answer to the historic budget crisis.

The governor is scheduled to propose a 2009-11 budget this week as part of his State of the State address, scheduled for Thursday.

FRIDAY

CRIME DOWN IN 2008

The number of homicides and sexual assaults rose in Las Vegas in 2008, but every other category within the Metropolitan Police Department's jurisdiction fell, in some cases dramatically.

The drop in crime comes during the sharpest economic decline in Southern Nevada's history.