Newport man dies after shooting

Paul Clinton

COSTA MESA -- A Newport Beach man shot Friday in broad daylight died

Monday of his wounds after he was declared brain dead and pulled off life

support.

Miroslav Maric, 49, died at 11:15 a.m. Monday at Western Medical

Center in Santa Ana, where he was taken after the incident. Maric had

been in critical condition for almost three days.

The Costa Mesa Police Department continued its investigation of the

killing Monday but released few details about the crime.

“In terms of the nuts and bolts of this thing, there’s a big tarp

being thrown over it,” Lt. Dale Birney said.

Maric was shot several times Friday afternoon as he sat in a black

convertible Mercedes Benz, which was parked at a Jack in the Box

restaurant on the corner of 17th Street and Tustin Avenue.

Investigators “are trying to get up to speed on what brought these two

to that parking lot at that point,” Birney said.Police arrested Ramadan

Dokovic, 42, shortly after the shooting. Charges against him were

increased to homicide after Maric’s death. Dokovic lives in Downey.

About 3 p.m. Friday, Dokovic allegedly fired multiple shots at Maric

at point-blank range as the two sat together in the Mercedes.

According to several witnesses, Dokovic casually shot Maric several

times. He then calmly smoked a cigarette.

Police did not confirm whether the two men knew each other but did say

the shooting was not random. Dokovic placed a large handgun on the trunk

of the car and was walking away from the scene when police arrested him.

The event wasn’t without trauma for the shooter, who vomited on the

pavement before being taken into custody, police said. Dokovic also

complained of chest pains and was then taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport

Beach. He was later released and booked into Costa Mesa jail.

The daylight shooting startled the crowd of onlookers, many of whom

witnessed it. Katherine Lesage, who waited nearby at a hair salon, said

she was “shocked and disgusted” by the event.