Aspiring rapper, ex-Marine killed in shooting at posh Las Vegas suite

LAS VEGAS - Police were searching for leads Saturday in the shooting death of an aspiring rapper in a posh suite at a Las Vegas resort.

Police say Evan Plunkett, who performed under the name "Hollywood Will," was shot in the chest after a fight erupted between him and three other men during a party in the Palms Casino Resort's Fantasy Tower.

Others involved in the Thursday night fight fled the suite before police arrived, and no arrests have been made, investigators said. About 40 to 50 people attended the party.

A music video was being filmed in the suite when an argument broke out between Plunkett, 25, and the other men, according to friends.

Friends of Plunkett describe him as a "great kid" and a "beautiful soul." A neighbor told CBS affiliate KLAS in Las Vegas that Plunkett was trying to break up the fight, when he was shot. She also says the victim's brother TJ was there and was hurt trying to protect Evan. An article from 2007 about Plunkett on the Corps' website says that just a few days into boot camp, he lost his father and his best friend on the same day. His father, a fellow Marine, died in a traffic accident and his best friend was killed in a drive-by shooting.

The Palms is home to some of the most extravagant party suites in Las Vegas, including a 9,000-square-foot Sky Villa that rents for $40,000 a night and a Hardwood Suite that features a private basketball court.

Randi Flippin, a friend of the victim, said she's surprised the suspects were still at large.

"It just amazes me that nobody knows anything," she told the Las Vegas Sun. "There is no suspect at all. There were only 50 people in the room and nobody knows anything? That's insane to me."

Plunkett pursued his love of rap music after returning to Las Vegas from a stint as an aviation mechanic for the Marines, according to friends.

During his first week of boot camp, his father was killed in a traffic accident and his best friend was shot to death.

He was a 2007 graduate of Basic High School in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb.

"Everybody loved Evan. He was such a good-hearted person, and he was always the person to try and get everybody to do the right thing," Combs said.