Prostitution Sting Nabs Ex-RivCo Chief Deputy Sheriff Of Murrieta

MURRIETA, CA — A Jan. 9 prostitution sting in Temecula by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department that resulted in 10 "John" arrests included a 72-year-old Murrieta man who is a former Riverside County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Sheriff.

Ron Dye was taken into custody at 3:38 p.m. near the intersection Jefferson Street and Overland Drive in Temecula and booked on a prostitution charge. Dye was employed the Riverside County Sheriff's Department from 1969-2004, retiring as a Chief Deputy Sheriff, a Riverside County Sheriff's Department spokesperson confirmed for KESQ. He served in the Coachella Valley.

Dye is also the current longtime grounds coordinator of the annual Fair & National Date Festival in Indio, however Riverside County officials said Thursday that multiple options are being considered in potentially replacing him.

Dye has been the on-site operations coordinator for the Date Fest since 2009, according to the county Executive Office.

"The county is reviewing all available options related to (Dye's) contract," EO spokeswoman Brooke Federico told City News Service.

During his law enforcement career in the Coachella Valley, public records show he was named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit stemming from deputies harassing Cabazon Band of Mission Indians public safety officers.

According to the suit, reservation cops were being stopped and ticketed for using their overhead light bars while responding to calls that briefly took them off reservation roads and onto county streets. The tribe argued it was discriminatory. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2004 ruled in favor of the tribe.

The Jan. 9 prostitution sting that snared Dye targeted men trying to solicit an undercover female deputy for sexual favors in exchange for money. Dye was booked into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, but posted a $2,500 bond and was released within an hour or two.

The 10 men arrested Jan. 9 and booked at the Cois Byrd Detention Center on suspicion of the listed charges:

• Jeir Castillo, 25, Lake Elsinore resident — Prostitution
• Anthony Garcia, 21, Temecula resident — Prostitution
• Ron Dye, 72, Murrieta resident — Prostitution
• Everett Mays, 53, Temecula resident — Prostitution
• Chad Nehlsen, 41, Murrieta resident — Prostitution
• Daniel Wolff, 31, Temecula resident — Prostitution
• Juan Juan, 46, Wildomar resident — Prostitution
• Alfredo Becerra, 33, Temecula transient — Possession of Illegal Narcotics and Felony Violation of Probation
• Derrick Kendrick, 25, Winchester resident — Possession of Illegal Narcotics
• William Blackmon, 38, Menifee transient — Possession of Illegal Narcotics and Felony Warrant

—City News Service contributed to this report.