- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
$15,000 reward offered for information leading to arrests, convictions in 2017 Kelseyville murder
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The father of a man murdered during a home invasion robbery in July 2017 has joined forces with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to offer a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals responsible for the killing.
David Sheldon Shalett, 34, of Kelseyville was fatally shot as two suspects robbed his State Street home in Kelseyville early on the morning of July 19, 2017.
Investigators have pointed to an added degree of cruelty in the crime: Lt. Corey Paulich said when the two masked gunmen entered Shalett’s home, Shalett begged them not to do anything because he had children in the residence.
Despite that, Shalett was shot to death in front of his two children, ages 9 and 11.
“The suspect knew the kids were there and watching,” Det. Jerry Pfann of the Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crime Unit told Lake County News. “That’s what makes it such an egregious case.”
Pfann said there are persons of interest in the case but the sheriff’s office doesn’t want to identify them.
The individuals responsible for killing Shalett are believed to still be in Lake County, Pfann added.
At its Aug. 25 meeting, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution to authorize the $5,000 portion of the reward that comes from the county, which includes leftover funds donated for a reward for the January 2013 killing of Forrest Seagrave in Kelseyville.
Larry Shalett, David Shalett’s father, is offering $10,000 of his own money in addition to the county’s reward funds.
In the resolution the board approved, it states that David Shalett was murdered “in front of his children and several other people.”
Pfann told Lake County News that the sheriff’s office also has requested a reward of up to $50,000 from the Governor’s Office, but that so far hasn’t been approved. “I don’t know how soon we’ll get an answer on that.”
Pfann said the crime was marijuana-related, as was a burglary across the street a short time earlier.
Based on sheriff’s office reports on the murder to date, two masked gunmen entered Shalett’s home in the 5000 block of State Street. One of the individuals shot Shalett and stole a small amount of marijuana before fleeing on foot, running south.
Authorities described the shooter as a male, approximately 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt.
When deputies and firefighters arrived at Shalett’s home just before 3:30 a.m. on the report of a male gunshot wound victim, Shalett had already died, the sheriff’s office reported.
During the investigation, Paulich said detectives located a home across the street from Shalett’s that also had been burglarized that morning. Surveillance video at that second residence showed a burglary occurring shortly before Shalett’s murder.
The surveillance video released by the sheriff’s office in the days after the murder, showing the earlier burglary, is posted on this page.
“We do believe those are the suspects responsible for killing Mr. Shalett,” Paulich said.
The case ultimately was assigned to Pfann, who has worked it for three years.
“We put a ton of work into this,” he said, with help from outside agencies.
Just how much work? Paulich told the Board of Supervisors that the effort to date has involved investigators interviewing more than 100 people, serving dozens of search warrants and putting in close to 1,000 hours of investigative time.
However, so far, they haven’t been able to bring the case to a resolution by getting enough evidence to bring the suspects to justice, he said.
“It’s one thing to be able to file a case, it’s another thing to be able to get a conviction,” Pfann said.
The case is now three years old and Pfann is set to retire this month.
He said solving Shalett’s murder has been a priority for him.
“We just need that little bit more to make it a case,” Pfann said.
Supervisors take action to approve reward
In order to allow the county’s $5,000 portion of the reward to go forward, the Board of Supervisors approved the necessary resolution on Aug. 25 that authorized the use of funds collected from the community to be used in the Shalett case.
Sheriff Brian Martin told the Board of Supervisors than when the board first accepted the funds for the reward in the Seagrave murder several years ago, a resolution approved at that time included language that unused funds could be used for future rewards.
Martin said everyone who submitted money for the reward was contacted and all but one agreed to have their money rolled over for future reward efforts.
“We do know that there are people out there who have information that can help us with that, but sometimes people don’t come forward because it’s the right thing to do, sometimes they need a motivation,” Paulich said, adding they hoped the total reward of $15,000 will be that motivation.
Supervisor Rob Brown pointed out that the Seagrave reward was successful in leading to an arrest – that of Jonathan Antonio Mota of Kelseyville, who in October 2016 was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years for killing Seagrave at the convenience store where he worked.
In the Seagrave case, Brown said one of the informants didn’t want to take the reward but wanted it to be used for “something like this.”
Martin said the reward can’t be paid without the concurrence of both the sheriff’s office and the District Attorney’s Office, explaining that the information has to be useful.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier moved to approve the resolution, which was seconded by Supervisor EJ Crandall and approved 5-0 by the board.
Victim's father seeks justice
Larry Shalett, David Shalett’s father, said he was working with the sheriff’s office to get the reward launched this spring. “But things got lost in the COVID and everything else.”
Now, with his $10,000 and $5,000 more from the county approved, he’s looking for a long-hoped-for break in the case.
Last week Larry Shalett, who lives in Colorado, was in Lake County to meet with Pfann, catch up with him before his retirement and find out what the plan is going forward for handling the investigation.
Larry Shalett said he’s anxious to see the information about the reward get out to the community, adding he hopeful it will bring in some leads.
He said his son, who had lived in Florida previously, came to California in about 2010 with his wife and children, looking to make a new life and pursue new opportunities.
As for what he thinks happened, Larry Shalett said his son was victimized by local gang members. “I know the police have ideas on exactly what happened,” he said, adding that he didn’t want to speculate about the specifics.
Despite what they’ve experienced, he said his two grandchildren are doing well, going to school and “doing kid things.”
“They’re pretty resilient,” he said.
He said the hope now is that people involved with the individuals who committed the crime will share the information they have with authorities.
In a statement he wrote about the reward that he asked to be published, Larry Shalett said, “The horror of this event and the damage to the children can not be overstated. Through this tragedy our family remains grateful to the many good people of Lake County who have provided support during this difficult time. The sheriff’s office and Social Services have been especially helpful with the many personal and financial challenges resulting from this crime. Still, these gangster criminals remain at large, ever offending in the community.”
He added, “Time or distance will not stop me from seeking justice for David but I need your help assisting law enforcement in identifying these predators.”
How to contact the sheriff’s office
Anyone with information about the murder of David Shalett is encouraged to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and ask to speak to a detective.
“We’d like to hear from them so that we can give Mr. Shalett’s family some closure on this case,” said Paulich.
Methods Paulich said to use to contact the agency include coming to the main office at 1220 Martin St. in Lakeport, calling the main administrative number at 707-262-4200 or the nonemergency Central Dispatch number at 707-263-2690.
Individuals also can email Paulich at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or send a private message on the sheriff’s office Facebook page.
Informants can remain anonymous if desired.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.