Police make arrests in gang-involved shooting at Summerlin pool
A gang-involved melee at a city pool in Summerlin erupted into a shootout in which more than 150 rounds were fired in May, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
“That is unacceptable by any standard,” Capt. Fred Haas told reporters from the scene of the May 30 shooting, where he announced arrests on Tuesday.
The two people injured suffered minor shrapnel hits, Haas said.
In early February, a Clark County grand jury indicted Demarea Wesley, 22, Terrance Jefferson; Trayvon Ward; Michael Simmons, and Cedric Sweeting on 42 mostly felony charges related to the shooting, Clark County District Court records show. Bail was set at $50,000, records show.
Jefferson and Ward were no longer in the Clark County Detention Center, where Wesley remained Tuesday, serving time for an unrelated North Las Vegas assault with the use of a deadly weapon charge that he pleaded down to a misdemeanor charge of injury or destroy a property of another person, records show.
Simmons and Sweeting are fugitives with active arrest warrants, the records show. Ward is facing an additional felony charge of being a felon in possession of a gun.
Gunfire erupted at about 8:45 p.m. at the Pavilion Center Pool, 101 S. Pavilion Drive, police said at the time.
A promoter organized the party, renting the facility from the city of Las Vegas and charging an entrance fee, police said. That man, who was not identified, also is facing criminal charges, as are four others who were not involved in the shooting but were arrested during the course of the lengthy investigation, Haas said.
At some point during the party, with about 150 to 200 people present, shooters opened fire inside the facility and in the parking lot, said Haas, adding that it was hard to tell what prompted it, suggesting “perceived disrespect” between gang members.
A community center and Palo Verde High School, which are in the vicinity of the pool facility, were hit by gunfire, Haas.
Grand jury transcripts do not offer an insight into a possible motive, but Metro officers described encountering at least four of the suspects right after the shooting. Wesley and Jefferson, who suffered a shrapnel wound to the head, for example, were pulled over in the northeast valley a couple hours later.
Jefferson later told police that he had a problem with people at the party, according to the transcripts. Police recovered a shot-up BMW that belonged to Sweeting, and learned that there was a shootout between people in that car and at least one person in the parking lot.
Crime scene analysts described a large crime scene, while an officer testified that the pool party had been promoted online, where tickets also were available.
At one point, a witness who was caught in the crossfire testified that he had received a text message from Jefferson saying: “My bad, I didn’t mean to shoot you,” he told jurors.
Haas said no one at the party called 911, and no witnesses came forward that night. Metro, which deployed its intelligence, major case and gang units, sought assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives due to the high number of shell casings recovered, he said.
Haas said a break in the case came four to five months after the shooting.
“It was the No. 1 priority till we got to that point of the indictments,” Haas said.
The shooting caused changes to policy as to how Las Vegas rents out its facilities, Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, whose district encompasses the pool, said at the news briefing.
Haas implored the two fugitive suspects to contact authorities.
“If you’re out there, turn yourselves in,” he said. “If you know where they’re at, call Crime Stoppers.”
Crime Stoppers may be contacted at 702-385-5555 or at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.
“We will go to the end of the earth and be relentless in this investigation to make sure that that doesn’t occur again and people that did this are held responsible for their actions,” Haas said.
A previous version of this story included an incorrect first name for Capt. Fred Haas.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.