18-Year Deputy Held in Prostitute Slayings

A sheriff’s deputy arrested in connection with a series of prostitute murders in South-Central Los Angeles was identified today as Rickey Ross, 40, a narcotics investigator who has been with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for 18 years.

Ross, who had been smoking a substance believed to be cocaine with a prostitute when he was arrested about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, was under investigation in the murders of three street walkers in the area where at least nine prostitutes have been killed recently, police said.

Ross was spotted with the woman in his unmarked car by police officers patrolling South-Central Los Angeles, Police Chief Daryl F. Gates said at a news conference.

At Least Nine Murders

Police have been investigating a recent series of slayings in the area of at least nine and possibly as many as a dozen “strawberries”--women who trade sex for drugs--since August, 1985.

A gun was recovered from Ross’ car, and after a ballistics test linked the gun to the three killings, Ross was placed under arrest by investigators who had accompanied him to his home in the San Bernardino County city of Rialto.

Gates said the woman in the car had no indication that Ross was a deputy.

“He did not stop her (by) using his badge,” Gates said. “He only identified himself (as a deputy) after the officers stopped him.”

Police were investigating whether Ross was linked to the other recent slayings, Gates said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block said Ross, married with two children, ages 20 and 5, is currently assigned to a unit at Los Angeles International Airport.

“He has a very fine record,” Block said. “He has been a very effective investigator in the narcotics bureau.”

Known to Be a Prostitute

The name of the woman in the car with Ross was not released. A police news release said she was a prostitute. Gates said she told officers that she was getting scared before they arrived because she had been “well briefed” by police on the area’s killings.

The woman told investigators “simply that he (Ross) wanted to go to the trunk of his vehicle,” Gates said.

The gun that was recovered was in the trunk, although the woman didn’t know that.

A 77th Street Division police unit on routine patrol spotted Ross’ car parked near the Harbor Freeway and Gage Avenue. The car pulled away from the curb in an “erratic” manner as the police officers approached and they made a traffic stop, the chief said.

The officers alleged that Ross was under the influence of an intoxicating substance. Gates said the woman told investigators they had been smoking cocaine but he noted that tests were still being conducted to confirm the type of substance.