Moreno Valley shooting leaves victim hospitalized – Suspect arrested after neighborhood search
MORENO VALLEY, Calif., — Reports of a shooting led to a large-scale law enforcement response and the arrest of a man suspected of being involved in the shooting Monday afternoon, April 11.
The shooting, which sent one person to the hospital with major injuries, happened in an alleyway behind a business in the area of Moreno Beach Drive and Brodiaea Avenue, according to officials.
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Deputies from the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station responded to the rear of a business around 3 p.m. after receiving reports of a shooting, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Edward Soto told RCNS this morning.
Yesterday’s shooting led to a large-scale law enforcement response and extensive search of the surrounding neighborhoods. Johnny Lopez / Lone Wolf News and Media photo
When deputies arrived in the area, they found a subject suffering from a gunshot wound, according to Soto.
The victim was transported to Riverside University Health System in Moreno Valley, where he remains hospitalized in critical condition for treatment of what the Sergeant described as a “major injury”.
As the shooting investigation was getting underway and a Sheriff’s helicopter circled overhead, several citizens who either called 911 or later spoke with deputies reported seeing a black male running away from the scene of the shooting.
He was last seen running into a nearby residential neighborhood to the west of where the shooting had occurred.
Willie Lee Clark Jr. was arrested after a shooting that left a man critically injured and in intensive care. Riverside County Sheriff’s Department booking photo
Based on the information provided by witnesses, deputies and investigators, along with the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau, converged on the neighborhood and began an extensive search of the immediate area, ultimately locating and arresting a man believed to have been involved in the shooting.
Video filmed at the scene showed that the alleged suspect, 18-year-old, Willie Lee Clark Jr., appeared to have been injured with his head bandaged and before he was placed into the back of a patrol vehicle deputies covered his hands with bags to protect any potential gunshot residue or other evidence of the shooting from being wiped away.
Deputies are seen placing bags onto the alleged gunman’s hands to protect any potential gunshot residue from being wiped away before it could be collected for forensic examination. Johnny Lopez / Lone Wolf News and Media photo
Clark was later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of murder and online jail records indicate he remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail or bond.
Officials have not said what may have led to the shooting or where the suspect was located prior to being arrested.
The shooting investigation is ongoing, and Soto said no further information was immediately available.
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Johnny Lopez / Lone Wolf News and Media photos above, video below.
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Trevor Montgomery, 51, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and operates Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS). Both are stringer organizations, providing breaking news coverage and community interest stories for other mainstream media organizations throughout the two regions they serve.
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
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.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.