Arrests made in shooting death of Sultana High graduate Deven Dalton in parking lot
Two people were arrested Saturday in the shooting death of 20-year-old Deven Dalton in the parking lot of Stater Bros. in Victorville, sheriff's officials reported on Sunday.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s investigators arrested Kody Lee McDufienunnery, 18, of Los Angeles, and Kathleen Proffitt, a 19-year-old Victorville resident, a sheriff’s report said.
Proffitt’s full name is Christine Kathleen Proffitt, sheriff's spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez told the Daily Press.
Early Saturday morning, sheriff’s deputies located and arrested McDufienunnery and Proffitt, who were booked at High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto, with no bail amount set, sheriff’s officials said.
More: Family mourns Sultana High School graduate Deven Dalton after fatal shooting
McDufienunnery was arrested for the shooting death of Dalton and Proffitt for being an accessory after the fact, according to sheriff’s officials.
McDufienunnery was arrested at 12:25 a.m. Saturday in the 14200 block of Amargosa Road, according to booking records.
At approximately 2:35 p.m. Thursday, Victorville Sheriff’s Station deputies responded to shots heard in the 13700 block of Bear Valley Road, said Rodriguez.
Upon arrival, deputies located the victim, Dalton, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Dalton was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased, the sheriff’s report said.
Lasha Dalton, a Hesperia resident, wept loudly as she expressed grief over losing her 20-year-old son, Deven Dalton, after being fatally shot in a supermarket parking lot Thursday in Victorville.
“I was there when they brought him by ambulance to Desert Valley Hospital,” Dalton told the Daily Press on Friday. “They did CPR on him for 40 minutes — they tried to save him. He was my baby, and now he’s gone.”
Investigators with the Sheriff's Specialized Investigations Division, Homicide Detail responded and assumed the investigation. During the investigation, the suspects were identified as McDufienunnery and Proffitt.
Witnesses told the Daily Press that a portion of the parking lot was closed after the shooting as deputies investigated the area near the Wells Fargo ATM and Victor Valley Dental Group offices.
Deven’s family said a memorial inside their home includes candles and photos of the young man who attended Ranchero Middle School and graduated from Sultana High School in 2020.
Deven Dalton played basketball in elementary school, participated in track and field at Ranchero Middle School, and wore No.22 while playing defensive back for the Sultana High School football team.
During a vigil on Saturday afternoon near Stater Bros, loved ones wept as they laid out flowers, lit prayer candles, signed posters, and consoled each other.
A large poster filled with photos of Dalton included the words, “Deven always in our hearts.”
The temporary memorial also included numerous prayer candles arranged in the letter “D” and a bag of Takis, a popular flavored rolled tortilla chip.
Anyone with information about the ongoing investigation is asked by the sheriff's department to contact Detective Bryan Sprague at (909) 387-3589.
Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call the We-Tip hotline at 1-800-78CRIME (27463), or you may leave information at the We-Tip website, www.wetip.com.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Instagram @RenegadeReporter and Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Arrests made in shooting death of 20-year-old Hesperia man
