Day care home had no complaints before drowning

By Mary Manning

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009 | 4:30 p.m.

UPDATED STORY: Police still involved in accidental drowning

North Las Vegas Police, the state and Clark County agencies are investigating a day care home where a 1-year-old boy drowned Tuesday afternoon in a backyard swimming pool.

The police department suspended day care operations until its criminal investigation is completed, police department spokeswoman Chrissie Coon said.

The boy who drowned at a licensed day care home near Lone Mountain Road and Decatur Boulevard was identified as Jordan Williams, the Clark County coroner's office said Wednesday.

The victim and a 3-year-old boy fell into a swimming pool at about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday at a residence at 4731 Gunlock Circle in North Las Vegas. The 3-year-old was listed in good condition at University Medical Center's Pediatric Unit and is expected to make a full recovery, she said. The children were not related.

The Southern Nevada Health District's inspection supervisor for such facilities, Mark Bergtholdt, said this is the first drowning death at a day care home in the Las Vegas Valley.

The home in the northwestern Las Vegas Valley had been inspected and there were no complaints filed against it, Bergthodt said.

The health district inspects such facilities twice a year.

The pool in the backyard would have to meet building and safety codes in North Las Vegas, said Brenda Fischer, public information officer for the city. That is part of the investigation, she said.

North Las Vegas had issued a business license to the home, North Las Vegas business manager Lana Hammond said. Before a license is issued, North Las Vegas fire inspectors examined the home, she said.

North Las Vegas issues two types of licenses for such facilities: one for a family day care for one to four children, of which North Las Vegas has 15 such facilities. The other category is day nurseries, where one to nine children can be cared for, of which the city has 41, Hammond said. Marisela's Family Day Care could care for up to six children because of zoning rules at the home's location, Hammond said.

Facilities caring for one to seven children need a single supervisor and those who care for eight to 16 children need two supervising adults, Hammond said.

After the city issues its business license, the state must also issue a permit, Hammond said.

The Nevada Bureau of Services for Child Care listed on its Web site that the business is licensed as of December and is owned and operated by Marisela Carvajal.