Temecula Deputies Indicted By Grand Jury In Bribery Case

TEMECULA, CA — A Riverside County Sheriff’s Department lieutenant, a sergeant, and an ex deputy who all served in the Temecula Police Department were indicted this week in a criminal conspiracy case.

Lt. Samuel Flores, Sgt. Robert Christolon, and former deputy Kevin Carpenter have been charged with crimes including bribery, conspiracy to commit a crime, and unlawful computer network access, according to John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

Cody Close, owner of DJ's Towing in Temecula, has also been indicted in the case.

A Riverside County criminal grand jury returned the indictments Wednesday, Hall said.

DJ’s Towing contracted with the sheriff’s department to provide towing services, and Close offered bribes to the three Temecula lawmen in an effort to boost his business, according to Hall.

Temecula contracts with the sheriff's department for police services.

Between 2018 and early 2019, it's alleged that Close provided Flores, Christolon and Carpenter with free or steeply discounted vehicles, free meals, the use of his facility for vehicle repairs, as well as a free stay for Flores in a beachfront home in exchange for extra business and preferential treatment.

During that time, Flores and Christolon supervised the traffic division at the Temecula Police Department. Carpenter was assigned to court services in Banning, but worked overtime with the Temecula PD's traffic division, Hall said.

Carpenter and Flores would use DJ’s Towing “out of rotation," meaning when another tow company on a “rotation list” should have had the opportunity to respond to a call, DJ’s Towing would instead get that call, Hall said.

To avoid getting caught, Carpenter falsely logged tows as traffic citations in the sheriff’s department’s computer network, according to Hall.

Additionally, it's alleged that Flores used Close’s hazardous waste cleanup business and promoted it to other sheriff’s employees despite that business not having a contract with the sheriff’s department. It is also alleged that, when other members of the traffic division noticed and complained, Flores and Christolon provided cover for Carpenter’s activities.

The scheme was discovered when another tow company in the city of Temecula noticed DJ's was being used out of rotation and complained to the sheriff’s department, Hall said.

Flores and Christolon are currently on administrative leave and Carpenter is no longer employed by the sheriff’s department, according to Hall.

All four men are scheduled to be arraigned on March 27, in Department 61 at the Hall of Justice in Riverside.