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A former Riverside County Sheriff's deputy was sentenced to 40 years to life today for shooting a man at a bar while he was off duty.Dayle William Long, 44, was convicted on Dec. 12 for second-degree murder of an unarmed 36-year old man, Samuel Vanettes, at Spellys Pub & Grille in Murietta in 2011, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Prosecutors said there were at least 11 witnesses who saw Long shoot Vanettes point-blank. Long, who had been drinking at the bar with a buddy, played darts with Vanettes. The two got in a heated argument about whether a specific street was located in Orange County and the former deputy shot the victim six times at least five feet away.
Long argued in court that before he had shot the victim, Vanettes' friends had threatened to take his gun and kill him, according to the Press-Enterprise.
When the Murietta police arrived at the scene, Long, a 10-year law enforcement veteran, walked out of the bar to identify himself as an off-duty deputy, reported the Los Angeles Times. Vanettes died at the scene.