A Southern California man has been arrested in connection with a cold case that took place nearly two decades ago in Riverside County, as per details released by local authorities. The arrest is related to the 2007 murder of 15-year-old Clayvaughn Mallet, who was found with gunshot wounds in a Moreno Valley field and later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office disclosed that the suspect, Vincent Gonzales, 37, of Lake Elsinore, was taken into custody on March 28, 2025. After the initial investigation went cold, detectives recently managed to reopen the case. They were to successfully identify new evidence, which ultimately led to Gonzales being pinpointed as the primary suspect almost 18 years after Mallet's murder. The arrest took place without incident.
As KTLA reports, Gonzales has been booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center on murder charges. The Riverside County Sheriff's Office has not yet released information regarding the motive behind the killing or how Gonzales and Mallet were known to each other if at all. The ongoing investigation continues to keep details under wraps as detectives press forward.
For those who may hold additional information about the case, authorities encourage them to step forward. "Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to call Investigator Dan Brown of the Central Homicide Unit at 951–955–2777," as stated in the official sheriff's office press release. The Central Homicide Unit, which is spearheading the renewed investigation, holds hope that fresh leads or previously withheld information could contribute to fully unraveling the circumstances of Mallet's untimely death.
