UPDATED: Second man, 22, arrested after senior found beaten to death in MV field

UPDATED: Friday, May 25, 1 p.m.

See original story below.

MORENO VALLEY: Authorities investigating the brutal slaying of a 65-year-old Moreno Valley man announced the arrest of a second person allegedly involved in the beating death of the elderly victim.

Early in their investigation, Sheriff’s Central Homicide and Moreno Valley PD investigators identified, located, and arrested Victor Mendoza, 30 for the murder of Larry Valverde.

On Thursday May 24, around 5:25 p.m., Moreno Valley PD’s Special Enforcement Team members located the second suspect identified in the ongoing investigation.

Dillon Clifford Hardy, 22 years, was detained in the area of Sunnymead Blvd. and Heacock St., Moreno Valley, according to Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Ben Ramirez.

Based on their investigation, officials arrested Hardy for his alleged involvement in the senior’s murder. He was later booked into Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of murder with malice.

Online jail records indicated Hardy remains in custody and is being held without bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned at Riverside’s Hall of Justice, May 29.

Mendoza also remains in custody and is being held without bail.

 

ORIGINAL STORY: Man, 30, arrested after senior found beaten to death in field

MORENO VALLEY — Authorities investigating last Saturday morning’s suspicious disappearance of a 65-year-old man located the victim’s body the following afternoon and quickly identified and arrested a man they say was responsible for the elderly man’s murder, sheriff’s officials announced Sunday.

Sheriff’s officials identified Larry Valverde as the man reportedly found beaten to death in an “overgrown area of an open field” on the 23100 block of Sunnymead Boulevard. The slain senior’s lifeless body was discovered about a half-mile away from where he was first reported missing.

Very early in their investigation, officials developed leads and gathered information that led them to identifying Victor Mendoza, 30, as a possible suspect in the victim’s death.

Although Mendoza was initially arrested on an unrelated charge, he was eventually booked into Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of committing murder with malice. He remains in custody without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at Riverside’s Hall of Justice, May 23.

Riverside County sheriff’s investigators assigned to the Moreno Valley Police Station were dispatched to reports of a “missing persons call involving suspicious circumstances,” shortly after 8 a.m., Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Ben Ramirez explained in a written press release.

During their investigation authorities located and processed a “possible crime scene” on the 23700 block of Sunnymead Blvd., according to Ramirez.

Although officials employed the use of a Sheriff’s bloodhound, Valverde’s body was not found that day. Despite not finding the victim’s body, investigators quickly identified Mendoza as a possible suspect in the senior’s disappearance and began actively searching for him.

Early Sunday morning, at around 5:45 a.m., investigators located Mendoza on the 24600 block of Mantee Place, about two miles from where the victim had reportedly disappeared. Investigators arrested him on an unspecified, unrelated charge.

Within hours of Mendoza’s arrest, as the missing person’s investigation was continuing, Valverde’s body was found just after noon, “with obvious trauma,” according to Ramirez.

Officials have not released any known motive for the elderly victim’s brutal slaying and no further information will be released in the ongoing investigation at this time, according to Ramirez.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Investigator Vasquez with the Moreno Valley Police Department at (951) 486-6700 or Investigator Loureiro with the Central Homicide Unit at (951) 955-2777. Callers can refer to incident file number MV181390058 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 46, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.