State & Region brielfy

Fax leads police to body in car trunk

LOS ANGELES (AP) " Police following an anonymous tip sent by fax to a television station found a dead woman in the trunk of her car Saturday, and are looking for the sender and two men alleged in the message to have been involved in the crime.

Officers discovered the body in a Valley Village neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley soon after being notified by KTLA-TV staff members about the faxed letter, Officer April Harding said. The sender described himself or herself only as "someone trying to help."

The sender wrote that a woman was killed Feb. 28 and that her body was in a black trash bag in a car. The sender said the car would be within a 2-square-mile area of a specific address; police found it several blocks away on a shady residential street facing the 101 Freeway.

"She should be reported missing by her family," according to the letter provided by KTLA.

The sender also named a suspect in the killing and another man who helped the suspect clean the car.

The fax included the victim's name, but police did not immediately release it or the cause of her death pending notification of her relatives and an autopsy.

Board to review domestic partner benefits vote

INCLINE VILLAGE (AP) " The American Civil Liberties Union is protesting a local governmental agency's vote to rescind health care insurance benefits to domestic partners of employees.

Lee Rowland, northern coordinator for the ACLU's Nevada chapter, said her organization will consider its options if the Incline Village General Improvement District board fails to rescind its Feb. 25 vote.

The board is scheduled to review the issue at a meeting Wednesday night at the request of board member Bea Epstein, who was on the losing side of the 3-2 vote.

The action reversed a similar board vote last August in favor of offering domestic partner benefits.

Handling of case involving Reno officer questioned

RENO (AP) " Prosecutors are investigating whether an off-duty Reno police officer found passed out in his car last month was drunk and why responding officers waited to get help from another police agency.

The patrol officer, Chad Johnston, 33, was convicted last year of driving under the influence after breath tests showed he had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system, according to court documents.

In the latest case on Feb. 14, two hours passed between the time a woman reported seeing an unconscious man in his car in the Silver Legacy hotel-casino parking garage and the time that a Washoe County sheriff's deputy performed a field sobriety test on Johnston.

Johnston passed the test, but the sheriff's office questioned the way the incident was handled by Reno police and asked prosecutors to investigate whether charges should be filed, said Brooke Keast, a sheriff's spokeswoman.

"There are things that happened with this case that need to be explained, and I am seeking answers," Assistant District Attorney John Helzer said."There are some substantial portions of this case that need to be investigated.

S.F. judge bars trash scavengers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) " A San Francisco judge has barred recycling scavengers from taking bottles, cans and pieces of cardboard from curbside bins.

Judge Charlotte Walter Woolard issued a preliminary injunction sought by Sunset Scavenger, San Francisco's official waste hauler. Violations of the injunction could result in fines of up to $1,000 and as much as six months in jail.

Sunset Scavenger went to court to try to prevent small groups of scavengers from converging on neighborhoods the night before weekly trash and recycling pickups and taking glass bottles, plastic, aluminum and other items.

The company said it acted after getting thousands of complaints from residents who said the scavenger crews were becoming hostile and dangerous and were creating litter and noise.

Security guard opens fire at Sacramento club

SACRAMENTO (AP) " One person has been shot and three others injured following a fight outside a Sacramento nightclub.

Police say a security guard shot a passenger in an SUV that hit two people as it sped away early Saturday from the Costa Azul nightclub.

The SUV driver flagged down a Sacramento Fire Department ambulance several blocks from the nightclub to get aid for the passenger, who was hit in the wrist. Ambulance personnel called police, who arrested the driver on suspicion of hit and run and drunken driving.

The two people hit by the SUV were hospitalized with moderate injuries. A security guard who was also struck by the vehicle had minor injuries.