Police check casings

A drive-by shooting at Bob Baskin Park that left one man dead and one man critically injured on Sunday was preceded by gunfire at a house party both victims are believed to have attended, Las Vegas police confirmed Tuesday.

Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lt. Lew Roberts said shell casings recovered from a southwest Las Vegas home are being compared with cartridge casings found at the park on West Oakey Boulevard near Rancho Drive.

It's an angle police have been pursuing since Monday night.

"We obviously have to compare casings to make sure the shots possibly came from the same gun," Roberts said. "I anticipate an arrest coming on this fairly soon."

The drive-by claimed the life of 18-year-old David Alden Miramontes, who was sitting in a backseat of a Volkswagon Jetta when he was shot in the head, according to the Clark County coroner's office.

Chris Luscombe, 19, a 2007 graduate of Clark High School, was shot in the torso. He was in critical condition Tuesday at University Medical Center.

The two victims didn't know each other, witnesses said. Roberts said it's unclear if Miramontes and Luscombe were intended targets since the shots were fired "indiscriminately" from a dark-colored compact car, possibly a Toyota Scion TC coupe.

Mike Galbraith, a 17-year-old senior at Henderson's Basic High School, said Luscombe told him about the gunfire at the house party. Galbraith was with Luscombe at Baskin Park from 12:30 a.m. until the 3 a.m. drive-by occurred.

Luscombe had tried to break up a fight at the house party involving two female friends, Galbraith said. Luscombe intervened by throwing one of the girls fighting with his friends to the ground. When Luscombe left the party, a man stepped outside and fired several shots in the air.

That's what Luscombe told Galbraith in a cell-phone conversation. Luscombe repeated the story while the two friends were at a 7-Eleven before going to the park, Galbraith said.

Roberts confirmed that the fight at the house party involved girls and several other people. He said there were about 100 young people at the house party but did not disclose the address of the residence, located near Rainbow Boulevard and the Las Vegas Beltway.

Young adults were at the party, Roberts said, but no parents were in attendance.

"The hurdle we've got to get over is there were quite a few kids at the party," Roberts said. "We've got to try and track these kids and get a statement from them."

Roberts said Tuesday that police don't yet have suspect names in the park shooting. He didn't rule out the possibility of more than one shooter being involved. Six to eight shots were fired into a crowd of teenagers and young adults during the Baskin Park drive-by.

In a Review-Journal obituary for Miramontes, friends and family described the 18-year-old as a 6-foot-5-inch man who cared for others and who went by the nickname "Dae Dae." He loved going to the beach, skating and camping.

"His heart was bigger than his feet or hands and that is saying a lot," Miramontes' obituary said.

Visitation for Miramontes is from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. today at Palm Mortuary, 1600 S. Jones Boulevard. Services will begin at 5 p.m.

Luscombe's friends continued to gather at UMC Tuesday to support him and his family.

Andrew Himmler, 19, was one of about 20 friends waiting for updates on Luscombe's condition in UMC's trauma waiting room. Himmler, who has known Luscombe since elementary school, has been at the hospital every day since Sunday, when he learned his friend was shot.

"I don't even know what day it is," said Himmler, who wore a Superman shirt in honor of Luscombe, who is called that by his friends.

Himmler said family members believe that Luscombe's condition is improving. Luscombe was taking classes at the College of Southern Nevada before he was wounded. Luscombe's ultimate goal is to play in the NFL, Himmler said.

Himmler said he expects his friend and former Clark High School varsity football teammate to walk out of the hospital and eventually get back to his football dreams. Luscombe can bench press 400 pounds, said Himmler, who believes his friend will recover.

"I know he's going to walk out," Himmler said. "Everybody who knows him knows that."

Maggie Lillis contributed to this report. Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.