Disgraced Deputy
INDIO (CNS) – A former Riverside County sheriff’s deputy accused of abusing his authority and committing felonies while off-duty is unquestionably guilty, a prosecutor said Wednesday, while the defense countered the case against the disgraced lawman is largely based on mistakes and misinterpretations of what really happened.
The prosecution and defense in the trial of 34-year-old Alexander Ravy Vanny both rested Wednesday and were directed by Superior Court Judge James Hawkins to immediately proceed with closing statements at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, where testimony lasted about two weeks.
Vanny, of Hemet, was arrested last year and charged with kidnapping, stalking, possession of child pornography, unauthorized use of protected electronic data, maliciously destroying a wireless device, witness intimidation, illicit eavesdropping, using a concealed camera to invade privacy, illegal use of a tracking device, interference with a traffic control device and possession of a firearm in violation of a protective order, with a sentence-enhancing allegation of perpetrating a felony while on bail.
He’s being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.
“The question is not whether he’s the Cop of the Year,” defense attorney Quinton Swanson told jurors. “The question is whether he’s done the crimes.”
Swanson argued most of what his client was charged with stemmed from domestic squabbling and “stupid” decisions on the part of the ex-patrolman.
At the outset of the trial, Deputy District Attorney Jess Walsh recounted the alleged offenses involving the two principal victims, a former sheriff’s Explorer scout identified only as “Leslie,” and the defendant’s one- time live-in girlfriend, a mother of two identified as “Madeline.”
In the latter case, Vanny became obsessive, the prosecutor alleged, unable to cope with their split in the summer of 2024.
After she went out on a date, the then-lawman secretly followed her and the man, whose name wasn’t disclosed, waiting until they were inside her Menifee residence, then allegedly setting up an audio device outside the bedroom window to record the sounds of her and the other man engaging in sex.
After waiting a few moments, Vanny allegedly forced his way into the apartment and challenged the man to a fight, according to the prosecution.
Court papers alleged when Madeline attempted to use her cellphone to call 911, the defendant physically took it and damaged it. However, Swanson told jurors in his closing argument that Vanny actually returned the phone and did not try to prevent the woman from making any calls.
Among the most serious allegations was Vanny’s following Madeline to Chappies bar in Hemet and demanding that she “leave and come home with him,” the prosecution said.
When the woman rejected him, Vanny “forcibly threw her into his truck,” according to court documents.
“The defendant then drove her, without her consent, to his home … some 17 miles and 30 minutes,” the prosecution stated.
Swanson presented a different picture, describing his client as the gallant type, rushing to “save” Madeline from drinking and driving after the two of them had a spat.
“What does she do when she’s angry? She drinks,” the attorney said.
She filed a restraining order. In defiance of that order, Vanny continued to carry around his personal firearm, Walsh alleged.
Walsh further alleged the deputy stuck “tracking devices” onto her car so he could monitor her travels at all times, but Swanson insisted that investigators “never found a tracker” on the woman’s vehicle.
The defendant became sexually involved with 18-year-old Leslie, who looked upon him as a mentor, regularly exchanging texts with him, according to the prosecution.
Vanny procured video images of two teenagers engaging in sexual activity during a visit to an Orange County theme park and kept the matter, which was part of an investigation, on his personal mobile phone, intending to show it to Leslie, Walsh alleged.
Swanson acknowledged his client “started a stupid relationship with the cadet, who was an adult,” while engaged to marry Madeline. The two were living together at the time, and the cheating led to their breakup.
Despite the separation, the attorney told the jury his client continued to pay some of his ex-fiancee’s expenses, including rent for her apartment.
Walsh said detectives documented the laundry list of alleged offenses perpetrated by the defendant, including threats against Madeline, whom he tried to intimidate by telling her, “If you call the police, you go to jail.”
Jurors are set to begin deliberations Thursday morning.
Vanny was first arrested on June 22, 2024, and booked into the Banning jail but posted a $1 million bond and was released. He was initially placed on paid administrative leave, but within a few months, he was fired from the department.
While on bail, Vanny was separately charged in connection with a slate of new allegations.
Vanny had been a sworn peace officer since being hired by the sheriff’s department in 2016.
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