This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Ex-Deputy Gets 40 Years To Life For Fatally Shooting Man At Bar
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.