Las Vegas news briefs

LAS VEGAS - For the first time, the Bureau of Land Management will offer public lands for auction on the Internet.

A total of 76 BLM parcels will be up for bid Monday, bureau land chief Jim Stobaugh said. Of that number, 26 are new parcels and 50 have been offered previously in public sales, he said.

The properties are offered for purchase by the public so environmentally sensitive lands in Nevada can be bought to protect watersheds, wildlife and wildlands.

An auction Nov. 2 earned more than $21.5 million under the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act of 1998.

The next public lands auction is set for May 3. The auctions will be held twice a year on the first Thursday of May and November each year.

On the Net:

The Bureau of Land Management's Web site: http://www.nv.blm.gov

Botched Murder

LAS VEGAS - The third man accused of participating in a botched contract killing that left the wrong man dead has been sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison.

Kurt Johnson had pleaded guilty to a charge of accessory to murder and agreed to testify against Keith Shanley and Steven Acosta.

After an August trial in which Johnson testified, Shanley was convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 47 years in prison on charges arising from the February 1998 slaying of George Veit at Best Auto.

In September, the capital murder trial of Acosta, who prosecutors say was the triggerman, ended with a negotiated plea.

District Judge Sally Loehrer sentenced Johnson to two to five years in prison for his role in the slaying conspiracy.

Prosecutors said the intended target was Steve Conley, who was living with Shanley's former girlfriend, worked at Best Auto and resembled Veit in age and build.

Johnson testified at both trials that he drove Acosta to and from Best Auto and waited while Acosta shot Veit. Shanley was not present because he knew he would be a suspect, prosecutors said.