Misplaced Cell Phone Leads To Perris Shooting, 1 Female Wounded: Cops

PERRIS, CA — Following a search Tuesday night in Perris for a misplaced cell phone, a 21-year-old man allegedly fired on a parked, occupied vehicle where he believed the device was, wounding one person in the process.

Malik Alex Elijah Davis of Perris was being held at Southwest Detention Center in lieu of $50,000 bail after his arrest Wednesday morning on suspicion of firing into the occupied vehicle, according to jail records.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department said the arrest came after a Perris Sheriff's Station deputy was flagged down by the vehicle's occupants around 11:43 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Case and Ethanac roads in Perris.

One of the vehicle occupants had been shot in the arm by a suspect in a tan Ford Fusion, according to the sheriff's department.

The suspect vehicle driven by Davis was eventually tracked down by deputies to Redlands Avenue and 7th Street in Perris. "The scene was processed" and an expended 9mm casing was found, according to the sheriff's department.

Davis, the department said, was the shooter and he was arrested.

The investigation determined that the shooting unfolded after Davis and his passenger went to a nearby convenience store. The passenger left a cell phone on the store counter, and when the pair returned to the business for the device they learned the store clerk gave the phone to someone he thought was the owner.

Davis' passenger tracked the missing cell phone to the 3000 block of Case Road. There they found a parked vehicle with two people inside. Davis approached the auto and fired one 9mm round into it, striking a female victim sitting inside in her left forearm, according to the sheriff's department.

There was no indication from the sheriff's department or jail records that the gun Davis allegedly fired was obtained/being carried illegally. Davis has not been formally charged in the case but he is slated to appear in court Friday, according to jail records.

Other than two traffic tickets, court records show Davis has no criminal history in Riverside County.

No further details were provided.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call Investigator DeMattia at Riverside County Sheriff’s dispatch at 951-776-1099, or the Perris Station at 951-210-1000.