Another Mom dead- Police: Fatal restaurant shooting followed dispute over children

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/29/police-fatal-restaurant-shooting-followed-dispute-/

By Cara McCoy (contact)

Monday, March 29, 2010 | 4:11 p.m.

Kevin Marquette Gipson

 

A man arrested in connection with the death of a 22-year-old woman shot last week in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant where she worked told police he was angry because the woman, his former girlfriend, was giving him problems about seeing his children, according to a Metro Police arrest report released Monday.

Kevin Gipson, 26, was arrested Friday on one count of murder with a deadly weapon after admitting to police he shot Brittney Lavoll, who was the mother of three.

Gipson, her ex-boyfriend, fathered two of her three children, police said.

Metro Police responded at 5:45 a.m. Thursday to the Jack in the Box at 7510 W. Lake Mead Blvd. after a caller reported the shooting. That location is near Lake Mead Boulevard's intersection with Buffalo Drive.

Police said upon arrival they found Lavoll near the drive-through area of the restaurant suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She was taken to University Medical Center and pronounced dead a short time later.

Witnesses told police they saw a tall, black man wearing a gray, hooded sweatshirt approach the woman. A struggle ensued and Lavoll, who had just exited her vehicle to report for work, screamed for help, according to the report. During the struggle, Lavoll was shot once in the head and fell to the ground, authorities said. The man who shot her ran from the scene eastbound on Lake Mead Boulevard, witnesses told police.

Witnesses couldn't give a description of the man's face because he had his hood pulled down, police said.

Police interviewed Gipson the day of the shooting after Lavoll’s babysitter told investigators Lavoll had broken up with him and that their relationship was sometimes violent. Gipson agreed to speak to detectives at the homicide bureau, and during a three-hour interview told investigators he was home at the time the murder happened. Police investigators drove Gipson home after the interview, but he agreed to come back the next day to again speak with detectives.

On Friday, Gipson took a polygraph test. When the polygraph examiner interviewed Gipson about the results of the exam, Gipson admitted to shooting Lavoll, according to the police report. He told police he was hiding in the bushes of the restaurant, waiting for Lavoll to arrive, and that she didn’t see him approaching. He said he was angry because Lavoll had been “giving him problems” about seeing his children.

He told police he bought the gun from a friend the day before the shooting.

Gipson is scheduled to appear before a judge Tuesday morning. He is being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center.

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