Riverside Deputy Held in Robberies

A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy was arrested Friday by his own department on suspicion of robbing eight motorists--all Latinos--after confronting them while he was in uniform, authorities said.

The deputy, identified as Paul Davidson, 29, a five-year veteran of the department, was arrested after a search of his Moreno Valley home, said Sgt. Mark Lohman, spokesman for the department.

Davidson, who is assigned to the department’s Banning station, was being held on $500,000 bail.

The arrest follows by six weeks the most embarrassing incident to sully the Riverside County department--the videotaped baton beating by two deputies of two illegal immigrants on April 1. Those deputies are under criminal and civil rights investigations by the FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, because the incident occurred in South El Monte.

The investigation of Davidson began after a motorist flagged down a California Highway Patrol officer Tuesday at a rest stop near the Whitewater Canyon Road junction at Interstate 10, between Banning and Palm Springs.

The motorist told the CHP officer that a deputy had approached him and discussed an equipment violation--but did not issue a citation. But afterward the man was missing “a large sum of money,” Lohman said. The victim then spotted the deputy’s car on the freeway and the CHP officer noted the patrol car’s license plate.

After sheriff’s officials identified Davidson, they placed him on administrative leave, Lohman said.

The CHP told sheriff’s investigators that it had received two reports of similar incidents on May 1 involving four people in two vehicles, Lohman said. And after a local news report of Tuesday’s incident, three more people alleged similar robberies involving a deputy, he said.

“All eight victims said they were stopped in the same manner and general area by a deputy matching the description of Deputy Davidson,” Lohman said. “All reported missing cash during their encounters with the deputy.”

Lohman said investigators uncovered enough evidence, coupled with the victims’ statements, to arrest Davidson. He would not elaborate on how the money was taken or what evidence was found.

“We don’t want to go into a lot of detail because his pattern is specific, and we may get calls from others claiming to be victims,” Lohman said. “But it appeared the deputy used his position of authority to possibly intimidate the victims.” No gun was used, he said.

The department’s reaction to the allegations is best illustrated “by how swiftly our investigators got on this,” Lohman said. “Our actions speak louder than any words could.”

Lohman said the victims--who asked not to be identified--were all Latino males. All were in the country legally.