In the early morning hours of Saturday, December 14, 2019, the city of Yakima, Washington, was rattled by a discovery that would cast a dark shadow over the community. In a desolate alley in the 400 block of South 9th Street, the body of 27-year-old Manuel Morell Pantaleon was found. A gunshot wound to his head had tragically ended the life of the young man.
Authorities believe that prior to his death, Pantaleon had been attending a party just a block away from where his body was ultimately discovered. The circumstances that led him from a gathering of people to a fatal encounter in a nearby alley remain a somber mystery. His death was part of a string of violence that plagued Yakima over a few short days, leaving the community on edge and law enforcement with multiple investigations.
The investigation into Pantaleon's death moved swiftly. Within days, Yakima police, in collaboration with the Pacific Northwest Violent Offenders Task Force, identified a person of interest. A warrant was issued for 19-year-old Clyde I. Kelly, and on December 20, 2019, he was apprehended at his home on South 1st Avenue in Yakima. Kelly was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with Pantaleon's death.
