Arrest made in mysterious 2007 killing of 15-year-old boy in a field, CA cops say
Nearly two decades after a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot in a field there’s been an arrest, California deputies say.
Vincent Gonzales, 37, of Lake Elsinore was arrested on a murder charge in relation to the death of Clayvaughn Mallet, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in an April 1 news release.
Deputies responded to a Moreno Valley field after getting a 911 call about gunfire on May 5, 2007, deputies said.
When deputies arrived, they found Mallet with gunshot injuries, the department said.
Mallet was taken to a hospital, where he died, deputies said.
Despite “several years of investigation, the case went cold without an arrest,” deputies said.
Then, in 2024, the department’s cold case unit picked up Mallet’s case, deputies said.
While reviewing the case, investigators found new evidence, prompting them to reopen it, deputies said.
Through an investigation, detectives identified Gonzales, who was 19 when the shooting occurred, as a suspect in Mallet’s killing and arrested him March 28, deputies said.
Gonzales, who is being held on $1 million bail, was scheduled to appear in court April 2, jail records show.
Moreno Valley is about a 60-mile drive southeast from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 9:40 AM with the headline "Arrest made in mysterious 2007 killing of 15-year-old boy in a field, CA cops say."
