Two ex-Riverside sheriff’s officers jailed after bribery conviction

Two former employees of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office have been sent to jail after being convicted of accepting bribes from a tow company owner.

Ex-Lieutenant Samuel Flores was sentenced to two years of formal probation and 270 days in county jail. Ex-Sergeant Robert Christolon was sentenced to two years of formal probation and 180 days in the sheriff’s work release program. Cody Close, former owner of Temecula’s DJ’s Towing, was sentenced to two years of formal probation and 120 days in county jail. 

The Riverside District Attorney’s Office said in a press release that Flores and Christolon sent business to Close in exchange for bribes. The bribes included a stay at an oceanfront beach house, tickets to the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival, a 1979 Corvette, a 1968 International truck, and a Honda Civic.

The two worked with Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Carpenter, who focused on towing parked cars for expired registration. Carpenter testified against his co-defendants. He was sentenced in October to two years of probation and 180 days in the work-release program.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys Natasha Sorace of the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit and David Allen of the District Attorney’s Appellate Unit.