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Apr. 02, 2008
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FATAL SHOOTING: Suspect says he was drunk

Police say 21-year-old admitted firing gun, killing mother of two

By SCOTT SPJUT
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Cristian Basurto, 15, speaks Tuesday outside Las Vegas City Hall about the death of his mother, Blanca Gonzalez, who was shot Friday while stopped at a red light. Cristian and his sister, Jasmin, were in the car at the time of the shooting at the intersection of Nellis and Charleston boulevards. Police arrested a suspect in the shooting on Monday.
Photo by John Locher



Calvin Lee Kirklin, 21, was arrested Monday morning



Click image for enlargement.
Graphic by Mike Johnson.

A man arrested Monday morning told police he was drunk when the gun he was handling accidentally discharged, killing a mother of two stopped at a red light.

Calvin Lee Kirklin, 21, was driving Friday evening with three adult passengers and his infant son when he fired through the front passenger window, striking in the head 39-year-old Blanca Gonzalez, whose own two children were in the car with her.

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    • Jabriel Fernandez, who was in the car with Kirklin, told police that "Kirklin held the gun in his right hand, fully extending his arm, as if aiming the pistol at Gonzalez's vehicle," according to an arrest report by Las Vegas police.

    Cristian Basurto, Gonzalez's 15-year-old son, called 911 after his mother fell into his arms, unconscious and bleeding. Gonzalez's car moved into the intersection and hit a pickup making a turn onto eastbound Charleston.

    Gonzalez was taken to University Medical Center, where she died at 6:03 p.m. Sunday

    "It's been really hard for us," Cristian said, with his mother's brother, Juan Lopez, at his side. "One day she's right there, smiling with you. And the next day she's in a bag."

    Cristian spoke briefly after a news conference Tuesday morning, trying his best to stay composed. "I don't want her to look down on me and look at me suffer. I have to be strong and work hard for my family. I need to work to make my mom proud."

    Cristian hopes to become a professional soccer player. The family was planning on moving to Mexico within the next year to pursue that goal.

    "My mom's dream was to make my dream possible. All she wanted was to fight for me and my little sister."

    He said his father was crushed, and has been leaving the house in the middle of the night to go for walks. He also said his sister, 11-year-old Jazmin Basurto who was also in the car, wasn't fully aware of what was going on.

    Cristian did not have much to say about Kirklin's arrest. "Anything they do or say isn't going to bring back my mom."

    Las Vegas police Capt. Randy Montandon said police do not know the suspect's motive and described the events as a "senseless crime of violence."

    Montandon said Kirklin is not in a gang and police were "very confident he did not know the victim."

    According to police, Gonzalez was waiting about 8:20 p.m. Friday to make a left turn onto Charleston Boulevard from Nellis Boulevard when Kirklin pulled up in a gold Buick Regal on the left side of her white Suzuki Grand Vitara, a small SUV.

    After the single shot was fired, Cristian heard a woman's voice from the Buick say, "You shot her! Run! Go! Go!"

    The Buick made a U-turn and drove away, southbound on Nellis Boulevard.

    On Monday morning, Kirklin was found after someone phoned police after recognizing the vehicle description from media reports. Police pulled the vehicle over on Pecos Road, south of Tropicana Avenue.

    In the car was Kirklin, Kirklin's baby, Kirklin's toddler brother and Brittni Clipper, the mother of Kirklin's son and registered owner of the vehicle.

    Kirklin initially said his car was the one that was shot at, which was the reason the front passenger window of the vehicle was damaged, but he later admitted firing the gun, citing his intoxication.

    Police said Kirklin might not have known he killed someone but must have known that he had shot at someone.

    "He wasn't surprised when he was pulled over; I can tell you that," Montandon said.

    A search warrant was obtained for Kirklin's residence, near Tropicana Avenue and Sandhill Road. After searching the home, Kirklin ultimately told police he had hidden the weapon -- a .380 caliber semi-automatic -- behind a shed in the rear of the yard.

    Police interviewed Clipper, as well as Fernandez and Rafael Creamer, who were in the car when the shooting happened. Clipper, Fernandez and Creamer all said Kirklin fired the weapon.

    None of them has been charged with any crimes. Police say there has been nothing to prove their involvement or that they knew what was going on.

    Kirklin is scheduled to appear in court this morning. It won't be the first time. In 2005, Kirklin pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and altering a serial number of a firearm.

    According to the Clark County School District, Kirklin was enrolled in the ninth grade at Valley High School for the 2003-2004 academic year. It has no record of enrollment after that.

    A woman at the house where Kirklin was living said Tuesday she and the other occupants had no comment.

    Contact reporter Scott Spjut at sspjut@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0279.

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    My Heart wrote on May 01, 2008 02:58 PM: Cris, I would be very proud to call you my new Son! I want you to have many great days ahead for you!


    Cris B wrote on May 01, 2008 11:13 AM: People like you is whats keeping me and my familly strong. The community has been wonderfull and i can't thank you guys enough for what you guys are doing. My mom is now next to her little brother in Mexico (My Uncle) who passed away a year ago on a tragic car accident. She asked us to do that incase something like that would happen. I dint want her to be far from me but i know that that's what she wanted and i have to respect that. I cant wait to visit her this summer, thanks again.


    My Heart wrote on April 29, 2008 12:54 PM: If this is truly Cris I believe that your mom is smiling down on you! You are mature beyond your years and please believe that there are people who pray for you and your family! Some can take away the physical being ,but your good memories will always be in your heart! God bless you.


    Cris B. wrote on April 28, 2008 09:43 PM: THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR OPINIONS. I READ ALL OF THEM AND I JUST WANTED TO CLEAR SOMETHING UP, ITS NOT A RACIAL THING.
    ON SATURDAY IT WAS MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY I HAD A SOCCER GAME AND EVEN THO I FOUGHT WITH EVERYTHING I WASN'T ABLE TO SCORE FOR HER, IT UPSET ME BUT IM OK KNOWING THAT WERE EVER SHE IS SHE WILL ALWAYS BE SMILING. THAKS AGAIN!


    Onewouldthink wrote on April 28, 2008 03:03 PM: One would think that if you own a weapon it would be for protection, maybe recreation as in hunting wildlife or a collector of firearms.Being that Calvin was unlicensed not a hunter or protecting himself by being car-jacked by Blanca I guess the only reason he had the gun was to kill an innocent person!


    Barry wrote on April 28, 2008 09:51 AM: Tommy, Tommy, Tommy. How many blacks are in Vegas? How many blacks are in Vegas jails? How many blacks are on the news each night? How many blacks are unemployed? Okay Tommy do you have enough education to calculate the percentages? DAAAA!


    Bernadette wrote on April 28, 2008 09:48 AM: Are we going to have Sharpton coming here and screaming racism and how we are picking on the blacks? Or the other nut who says we are profiling these poor little black boys. Yeah. Well.


    Tommy Perkins wrote on April 26, 2008 06:44 AM: MAN MY BLOGS KEEP GETTING REMOVED I USED TO IT THOUGH. SOME OF YOU PEOPLE NEED COUNSLING. BUT I WILL TELL YOU WHAT ANY ONE OF YOU THAT BELIEVES THAT THE BLACK COMMUNITIES IS A PROBLEM COME SEE ME. I WILL GIVE YOU MY INFO. YOU GUYS ARE HORRIBLE. YOU SEE THIS TYPE OF STUFF ALL OVER THE INTERNET. THAT LADY IN THE CAR COULD OF BEEN OF ANY RACE. SHE HAPPENED TO BE HISPANIC. AND YOU REALY WAN'T TO GET DOWN TO DETAIL HOW MANY BLACKS DO YOU KNOW THAT ARE FULL BLACK OR DO WE HAVE A LITTLE OF YOU IN US ALSO. SINCE SLAVERY BLACKS HAVE BEEN MIXED INTO DIFFERENT RACES. EVEN THOUGH NO MATTER WHAT I SAY THE BIGOTS WON'T HEAR IT. SO WHO ARE THE IGNORANT ONES? WHENEVER I HEAR SOMEONE SPEAK LIKE THAT I'M AMAZED WONDERING HOW YOU CAN DO IT. BUT I GUESS STUPID COMES IN DIFFERENT FORMS SHOOTING SOMEONE OR BEING A BIGOT. PEOPLE OF ALL COLOR KILL. cOMEON WHITE COMMUNITY WHAT ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO DO ABOUT ALL THE SCHOOL SHOOTING AND THE BIGOTRY. DOES NOT FEEL GOOD DOES IT. THAT'S BEING RETARDED. iF ANYONE DOES NOT LIKE WHAT I HAVE TO SAY YOU CAN CONTACT ME. AND I CAN EXPLAIN IN PERSON. COMMENTS LIKE THAT IS WHAT ENRAGES THE BLACK COMMUNITY. WHEN POLICE OFFICERS GET AWAY WITH SHOOTING "ANY" INOCENT PERSON THAT'S WHAT INGNITES US. AND THE ONE THAT CALLS HIMSELF TEACHER. YOU WOULD THINK YOU KNOW BETTER. i LIKE RAP BUT NEVER FELT LIKE KILLING SOMEONE. THAT'S CALLED STEROTYPING I HOPE TO GOD YOU ARE NOT ONE OF MY CHILDRENS TEACHERS.


    TOMMY PERKINS wrote on April 26, 2008 03:59 AM: NOT DONE WITH YOU GUYS YET. I HAVE TWO CHILDREN I TAKE CARE OF WITH GOALS. ONE TALKS ABOUT BEING IN THE NFL AND BECOMMING A SCIENTIST THE OTHER DREAMS OF BEING A VET. BUT WHO CARES THERE BLACK RIGHT. THEY WILL MOST LIKELY JUST GO AND SHOOT SOMEONE SOMEDAY. SOME OF YOU PEOPLE REALY NEED TO OPEN YOUR EYES ONE DAY AND LOOK AROUND. BUT I GUESS FOR NOW ON I WILL MAKE SURE EVERYONE I HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON WITH I WILL MAKE SURE THEY ARE NOT COMITING CRIMES. HMM WERE SHALL I START I HAVE BROWN EYES, BLACK HAIR, I HAVE FREKLES, WHAT ABOUT THE REB BLOOD. UNTIL THEY COMMUNITIES UNITE AND PEOPLE START TO REALIZE THAT WE ARE NOT THAT MUCH DIFFERENT. THESE TYPE OF COMMENTS WILL CONTINUE TO BE MADE. FROM THE DAY BACK IN 79 WHEN A NEIBOR TOLD ME AND MY SIBLING THAT WE COULD NOT WALK ON THE SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF HER HOUSE UNTIL THE MOMENT READING THIS BLOG IT WILL ALWAYS AMAZE ME THAT PEOPLE CAN ACT THAT WAY. AND FOR THE ONE THAT SAID THAT AS SOON AS A WHITE INDIVIDUAL SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT A BLACK PERSON IT IS RACISTS. YOU KNOW IF IT IS IT IS. MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE CHECKING YOUR SELVES. AND THE ONE THAT CALLS HIMSELF TEACHER I HOPE TO GOD YOUR NOT ONE OF MY CHILDRENS TEACHERS. I LIKE RAP AND MY FATHER LEFT FOR ANOTHER WOMAN WHEN I WAS A CHILD. AND THE ONLY PEOPLE I EVER SHOT WAS WHEN I WAS IN THE ARMY. HMMMM


    TOMMY PERKINS wrote on April 26, 2008 03:46 AM: this blog is amazing. I guess if I have a badge and am white and shhot a black teenager in the back that ok. There are people of every color in every community. Making every communitiy great. And you racists can't understand that this melting pot will be here a while maybe you guys should move to the middle of the ocean and drown. And the fact that I probably see some of you everyday makes me sick to my stomach. But you know what when your parents are peices of mess alot of time the kids turn out that. In the case of this shoting. Blame his parents for how they raised him not the whole black community. People are people no matter what color. I have more melonin so what. Does that make me bad. Does that make me a murderer. And you know what just like you I have a life and can't worry about what other people are doing in the streets. Not my concern. And you know what the comment

    "What is the black community going to do to change this? What can they do? It is not a black / white problem, it is a black problem. (I got that statement from my black neighbor)." it is not a black community problem it's a community problem. Did I or others lay down with his mother NO. Does he have my last name no. So why do we have to do something because we share one thing in common color.


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