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FIGHTER JET CRASH
Pilot killed in fighter jet crash is identified
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The military pilot killed in a fighter jet crash during a training exercise in Nevada has been identified as Marine Capt. Reid Nannen.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Marine Aircraft Group 12 released the 32-year-old pilot's name on Saturday.
Nannen died when the F/A-18C went down March 1 on a Navy range training complex east of Naval Air Station Fallon. The Marine jet was on loan to the naval station.
The Hopedale, Ill., native was a student at the TopGun school there.
Nannen's permanent assignment was at the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, and he had twice deployed to Afghanistan during his 10-year career.
VALLEY OF FIRE DEATH
Tour guide who dies at Valley of Fire identified
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas tour guide who died in an accident at Valley of Fire State Park northeast of Las Vegas has been identified.
The Clark County Coroner's Office says the cause of death for 72-year-old Sharlene Cruz was asphyxia.
Investigators say the woman had parked an SUV in a dirt parking lot in the Lone Rock area when it started to roll forward.
Witnesses say she ran to the driver's side and tried to get back in, but the left side of the vehicle hit a large rock formation and she was pinned between that and the SUV.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
MOTHER'S BEATING DEATH
NV man sentenced to life for mom's beating death
(Information in the following story is from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Henderson man has been sentenced to life in prison for the beating death of his 88-year-old mother.
The same Clark County District Court jury that convicted 53-year-old Richard Kravetz of first-degree murder imposed the sentence on Thursday.
Sarah Kravetz was taken to the hospital in November 2009 with a head wound and died weeks later.
Richard Kravetz told investigators that she fell.
According to court documents, his mother lived long enough to tell her other son, Russell Taylor, that Richard Kravetz beat her. Taylor testified against Kravetz at the trial.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that during the penalty hearing, prosecutors said Kravetz had a history of domestic violence and other convictions dating to the 1990s.
SAGE GROUSE-NEVADA
Ranchers group criticizes Nevada sage grouse plans
(Information in the following story is from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com)
RENO, Nev. (AP) — The Nevada Cattlemen's Association urged its members to deny state Department of Wildlife employees access to private land to protest the agency's proposals on protecting sage grouse.
The group's call on Friday for members to avoid cooperating with the wildlife agency came amid anger by some ranchers over what they perceive as anti-grazing sentiments in the plans to safeguard the bird's habitat.
The cattlemen's association says the wildlife agency supports proposals favored by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management that would financially harm many ranchers.
Federal officials are preparing a strategy to avoid the sage grouse's listing as an endangered or threatened species. Such a listing would have economic consequences for ranching, mining and alternative energy development across large swaths of land.
ELKO COUNTY-ATV ROADS
ATV travel may be OK soon on Elko County roads
(Information in the following story is from: Elko Daily Free Press, http://www.elkodaily.com)
ELKO, Nev. (AP) — Outdoor enthusiasts in northeast Nevada may soon be able to drive their all-terrain vehicles on county roads in Elko County.
Despite safety concerns, the county commission is moving forward with an ordinance to allow ATV travel on designated roads, but not on city streets or state highways.
The panel voted unanimously in favor of the proposal during a first reading of the ordinance on Wednesday. Final approval requires another reading, which has not yet been scheduled.
Commission Chairman Charlie Myers says expanding ATV travel in the county will draw visitors to the area.
Critics include Gerene Denning of the National ATV Injury Prevention Coalition, who says 60 percent of ATV deaths occur on roads.
WIFE ARRESTED
Argument over trip preceded Nevada husband's death
(Information in the following story is from: Gardnerville Record-Courier, http://www.recordcourier.com)
MINDEN, Nev. (AP) — According to court documents, a Zephyr Cove woman argued with her husband over a trip she wanted to take to Southern California to visit her daughter before he was shot and killed.
Tatiana Leibel was being held in the Douglas County Jail on a charge of open murder in the Feb. 23 shooting of her 64-year-old husband, Harold Leibel.
The 50-year-old self-employed computer saleswoman phoned dispatchers to say her husband had shot himself twice at their home.
Investigators say he was shot in the torso and a hand, and a cocked rifle found in the house helped implicate her as a suspect.
TAX REFUND SCAM
3 arrested in Nevada tax refund scheme
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Three people were arrested in Northern California last week in connection with a tax refund scheme in Nevada.
Sabrina Brown, Claudette Ward and Tamika Centers are charged along with Chante Taylor of Reno with conspiracy to file false claims against the federal government.
Taylor is accused of preparing at least 129 false individual income tax returns in the names of people whose identities were stolen. The names allegedly were provided by Brown, Centers and Ward for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 tax years.
Prosecutors say the IRS processed the returns as if they were legitimate and issued at least $973,521 in actual total refunds.
Brown was arrested Tuesday in Stockton, Calif., while Ward and Centers surrendered later in the week in Sacramento, Calif., and San Francisco respectively. Taylor was arrested in January.
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