Three men – including two former Riverside County sheriff’s deputies and the former owner of a Temecula towing company – were sentenced Tuesday for their roles in a towing-for-bribes scheme that steered lucrative impound business in exchange for personal benefits.
As reported by The Press-Enterprise, former Lt. Samuel Flores was sentenced to nine months in jail and probation and was taken into custody immediately at the Riverside County Hall of Justice. Former Sgt. Robert Martin Christolon received six months in the sheriff’s work-release program and probation. Cody Close, the former operator of DJ’s Towing, was sentenced to 120 days in jail and probation and was also taken into custody Tuesday.
A fourth defendant, ex-Deputy Kevin Alton Carpenter, received probation last October.
The bribery case, detailed in court records and reported by The Press-Enterprise, involved a pattern of deputies directing tow jobs to DJ’s Towing in exchange for gifts and favors. Carpenter, who previously worked in the Temecula station’s Traffic Bureau, developed a reputation for aggressively impounding vehicles, sometimes with little or no justification, and failing to properly log them.
Nearly all of those calls were routed to DJ’s Towing – even when the company wasn’t on the department’s official rotation list meant to ensure fair distribution among towing providers.
According to prosecutors, Close rewarded Flores with free towing for his personal vehicles, tickets to the Temecula Balloon & Wine Festival, limousine rides, and a stay at a $4 million Oceanside home owned by Close’s mother.
The scheme unraveled in 2019 after Flores and Christolon transferred to the Jurupa Valley station and immediately tried to bring DJ’s Towing into their operations, despite the company not being on the approved vendor list. That triggered an internal investigation.
Flores and Christolon were convicted in June 2024 of accepting bribes and conspiracy. Close was convicted of three counts of bribing public officers. Prosecutors also noted that Close’s hazardous-materials cleanup business began receiving questionable business from the department during the same period.
The convictions mark the end of a years-long investigation into corruption within the department’s towing procedures.
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