Lake Forest Man Drowns in Pool at His 40th Birthday Celebration

A Lake Forest man was celebrating his 40th birthday Wednesday when he apparently drowned in his back-yard swimming pool, officials said.

Armando M. Miramontes had spent most of the day celebrating with friends at his home in the 22000 block of Jubilo Place, said fire officials.

By about 4:30 p.m., the revelers found the man at the bottom of the pool.

“It appears that this was an accident,” Sheriff’s Lt. Jay Mendez said.

The victim had been drinking, witnesses told authorities, and was wading in the pool by himself for an undetermined amount of time before he drowned.

“It’s possible he had been drinking,” Mendez said. “But we don’t have any tests at this point to determine that.”

An elderly man who rented a room at the house was entering the pool when he noticed Miramontes still in the deep end of the pool, Mendez said.

“The elderly man could barely, physically, get in the pool and was in the shallow end,” Mendez said. “It appears he even had a hard time getting out of the pool to call 911.”

Officials reported that there were a number of other witnesses at the scene.

“There were about half a dozen men in the house and the victim was still in the bottom of the pool when the paramedics got there,” Fire Capt. Dan Young said. “If you see someone in the pool, get him out. Half the battle is getting that person out of the water. That three to four minutes can make a difference.”