Jury seated for trial of ex-deputy accused of abduction, other offenses
City News Service
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – A jury was seated today for the trial of an ex-Riverside County sheriff’s deputy accused of harassing and abducting a former girlfriend, as well as possessing child pornography.
Alexander Ravy Vanny, 34, of Hemet, was arrested last year following an investigation by the sheriff’s department’s Special Victims Unit.
Vanny is charged with kidnapping, stalking, possession of child porn, unauthorized use of protected electronic data, maliciously destroying a wireless device, witness intimidation, illicit eavesdropping, using a concealed camera to invade a person’s 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.
Jury selection spanned a week at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, where Superior Court Judge James Hawkins swore in a panel on Monday. He directed the prosecution and defense to present opening statements Tuesday morning.
Vanny is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.
According to a post-preliminary hearing summary filed after the defendant was held to answer in May, Vanny was obsessed with an ex-girlfriend and allegedly engaged in a series of criminal acts last year while trying to get her back and prevent her from seeing other men.
The woman had been residing with the defendant at his Menifee home but moved out when she deemed the relationship no longer workable, according to court papers.
Among the most serious alleged offenses was his following her in the summer of 2024 to Chappies Bar in Hemet and demanding that she “leave and come home with him,” the prosecution said.
When she declined, Vanny “forcibly threw her into his truck,” according to documents.
“The defendant then drove her, without her consent, to his home … some 17 miles and 30 minutes,” the prosecution stated. “All this travel was after forcing her into his truck and doing so without her consent and without her permission.”
The victim was ultimately able to get away from him uninjured.
The woman further alleged instances in which Vanny forced his way in her Hemet apartment, challenging men she was dating to fights and chasing them away, according to the prosecution.
Investigators discovered that Vanny had installed “tracker devices” on her vehicle to keep constant tabs on where she was day and night, prosecutors alleged. After he sneaked into her apartment one night, the ex-girlfriend became irate, “telling him she was calling 911,” according to documents.
“The defendant took her phone from her, preventing her from calling law enforcement,” according to the narrative, adding that he damaged the device.
There were instances of Vanny allegedly using the FLOCK law enforcement camera system deployed by the sheriff’s department and other agencies to procure license plate information from vehicles belonging to men visiting the victim, prosecutors said.
“On Nov. 29, 2024, the defendant secretly recorded the sounds of [the ex-girlfriend] being intimate with another man through her bedroom window,” court papers alleged.
Vanny’s alleged encounters with a sheriff’s volunteer landed him in trouble prior to the conflicts with his ex-girlfriend. In one visit with the volunteer in the spring of 2024, the defendant allegedly showed her a porn video involving underage victims, telling her “he would like her to participate in those activities with him,” according to the prosecution.
Vanny was first arrested on June 22, 2024.
He was 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, according to sheriff’s officials.
While he was on bail, Vanny was separately charged in connection with the alleged offenses against the ex-girlfriend.
He had been a sworn peace officer since he was hired by the sheriff’s department in 2016.