A 37-year-old man suspected of gunning down a Moreno Valley teenager nearly 20 years ago was behind bars Tuesday.
Vincent Edward Gonzales of Lake Elsinore was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside Friday on suspicion of murder and vandalism.
Gonzales is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
His case was under review Tuesday by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
According to the sheriff’s department, the suspect allegedly killed 15-year-old Clayvaughn Mallet on the night of May 5, 2007.
Sgt. Jarred Bishop said patrol deputies found the boy gravely injured from several gunshot wounds in a field near the intersection of Frederick Street and Sunnymead Boulevard, where witnesses had reported hearing gunfire, prompting calls to 911.
Clayvaughn was taken to nearby Riverside University Medical Center, where he died in the predawn hours of May 6, 2007.
At least one passer-by reported seeing a group of youths or young adults fleeing from the location of the shooting moments after it happened, according to sheriff’s officials.
Bishop said detectives pursued leads at the time that didn’t pan out. The case went cold until last year, when an investigative team conducted a review of the deadly shooting that “identified new evidence,” he said.
Specific details were not disclosed, but the findings ultimately pointed to Gonzales as the alleged assailant.
A possible motive also wasn’t provided.
The suspect was taken into custody without incident on Cypress Circle in Lake Elsinore Friday morning.
Background information on him wasn’t available.