On Sunday afternoon, February 12, 2017, 18-year-old David Espinoza was killed in a drive-by shooting on the 3600 block of Thomas Avenue in North Las Vegas. At approximately 3:15 p.m., a vehicle approached and someone inside opened fire; Espinoza suffered multiple gunshot wounds and the Clark County coroner ruled his death a homicide. Another teenager was critically wounded and taken to University Medical Center in critical but stable condition.

Investigators treated the attack as targeted rather than random and identified three suspects: Julian Barboza, Daniel Mendoza, and an individual named Rojas-Gaspar, whom police alleged were members of a local gang responsible for this shooting and other violent crimes. The case became part of a larger multi-agency probe called Operation Spartan Fist aimed at dismantling the gang’s activities; the operation led to indictments in October 2017 and the arrest of multiple alleged members, with Mendoza and Rojas-Gaspar among those taken into custody while Barboza remained sought at that time.

Did anyone in North Las Vegas have information about David, the shooting, or the individuals named?