City News Service
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – An ex-Riverside County sheriff’s deputy who abused his authority and perpetrated felony and misdemeanor crimes while off-duty was convicted today of stalking and more than a half dozen other charges, though jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on one of them.
An Indio jury deliberated two days before finding 34-year-old Alexander Ravy Vanny of Hemet guilty of the stalking count, as well as 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 controldevice and possession of a firearm in violation of a protective order, with a sentence-enhancing allegation of perpetrating a felony while on bail.
The panel, which deliberated until well after 4 p.m. Friday, hung 10-2 in favor of convicting Vanny of kidnapping, but with the deadlock, Superior Court Judge James Hawkins declared a mistrial on that charge. It was unclear whether prosecutors intended to retry the defendant on that count.
Hawkins scheduled a status conference for Feb. 6, when the District Attorney’s Office will announce whether to proceed with a retrial, or settle for sentencing Vanny on the convictions, which may happen the same day at the Larson Justice Center.
The defendant remains held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility. Deputy District Attorney Jess Walsh told jurors in his closing statement Tuesday that Vanny was unquestionably guilty across the board, engaging in criminal conduct during his final year as a sheriff’s deputy, before being fired.
At the outset of the trial, Walsh recounted the offenses involving the two principal victims, a former sheriff’s Explorer scout identified only as “Leslie,” and the defendant’s one-time fiancee, a mother of two identified only as “Madeline.”
In the latter case, Vanny became obsessive, 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 identity wasn’t disclosed, waiting until they were inside her Menifee residence, then 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 forced his way into the apartment and challenged the man to a fight, according to the prosecution.
Court papers said when Madeline attempted to use her mobile phone to call 911, the defendant physically took it and damaged it.
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.
Defense attorney Quintin 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.
She filed a restraining order against him, but in defiance of that order, Vanny continued to carry around his personal firearm.
Walsh said the deputy stuck “tracking devices” onto her car so he could monitor her travels at all times.
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 said.
He said detectives documented the laundry list of 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.”
“The question is not whether he’s the Cop of the Year,” Swanson told jurors. “The question is whether he’s done the crimes.”
He 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.
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 with a slate of new allegations.
He had been a sworn peace officer since he was hired by the sheriff’s department in 2016.
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