A former Riverside County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced to 40 years to life Thursday in the 2011 off-duty shooting of a man at a Murrieta bar, the Riverside County district attorney’s office said.

Dayle William Long, 44, was a 10-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department on the night of Dec. 21, 2011, when he shot and killed Samuel Vanettes, 36, at Spelly’s Pub and Grille, officials said. Long walked outside the bar and identified himself as an off-duty deputy to Murrieta police responding to the scene, officials said.

The officers found Vanettes dead inside. The Winchester man had been shot several times, officials said.

Vanettes had been drinking with family members when he introduced himself to Long, who was drinking at the bar alone, a relative previously told The Times. The relative said the men had been playing darts before the situation escalated.


Long was charged with murder two days later.

In December, Long was convicted of second-degree murder. A Riverside County jury also found true an enhancement that Long discharged a firearm causing death, according to the district attorney’s office.

samantha.schaefer@latimes.com

Twitter: @Sam_Schaefer