More Robbery Charges Filed Against Deputy

More motorists have alleged that a former Riverside County sheriff’s deputy surreptitiously took money from them during freeway traffic stops, leading authorities to file four additional charges of robbery against him Thursday.

Paul Davidson, 29, who is free on $500,000 bail and has resigned as a sheriff’s deputy, will be arraigned Tuesday on the additional charges, said Riverside County Deputy Dist. Atty. Bill Mitchell.

Davidson, a five-year veteran of the department, now faces 12 charges of robbery with the use of a weapon.

According to court documents, Davidson allegedly stopped motorists in the San Gorgonio Pass area of Interstate 10 and took possession of their wallets. After he returned the wallets, the victims would discover that about half of their cash was missing, according to affidavits.

Altogether, he is accused of taking about $6,500 in cash, according to court papers. Among the victims was a man who said he lost about half of the $4,000 in cash he was going to spend at a car auction, and another who lost about half of $3,200 intended for a down payment on a house.

Davidson came under suspicion after one of the victims, who allegedly lost $2,000, discovered that the cash was missing immediately after being questioned by the deputy. He flagged down a California Highway Patrol officer who pursued the deputy at speeds up to 100 mph on the freeway and recorded the patrol car’s license plate number before losing the car in traffic.

The deputy was arrested three days later after sheriff’s investigators learned of other alleged victims and searched his Moreno Valley home.

Mitchell said he will ask Tuesday that Davidson’s bail be increased to $2 million. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for June 21.