Slain Deputy Hailed as Hero

Struggling to find meaning in tragedy, 3,000 people--from Gov. Pete Wilson to busloads of rank-and-file sheriff’s deputies--attended a tearful funeral service Thursday for Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Shayne York, who lost his life simply because he carried a badge.

York, killed execution-style during a takeover robbery at a Buena Park hair salon last week, was termed a hero in eulogies by Wilson, Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block and Sheriff’s Deputy Jennifer Parish, his fiancee.

“My memory and love for Shayne will now carry me through this time of sorrow,” said Parish, who was with York at the time of the shooting. “I know that one day Shayne and I will be together again. There I will be able to fill the empty place in my heart.”

Block called the killing “a classic hate crime.” And Wilson blasted York’s accused assailants--identified as two members of a faction of the Crips street gang--as cowards.

“Those who kill an unarmed man, a defenseless man offering them no harm, no threat, are simply vicious, and viciousness is cowardice,” Wilson told the mourners who packed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Torrance.

“Even in the moment that his life was cut short, Shayne York prevailed,” Wilson added. “The cowards did not win. Courage wins, but the pain they’ve caused is unmistakable.”

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The emotional service--attended by law enforcement officers from across the state--served as a bitter reminder that even while off duty, their lives are at risk because of their profession.

“Never in the 40-plus years I’ve been in law enforcement have I seen this kind of cold-blooded violence directed at a sheriff’s deputy,” Block said. “This was a classic hate crime.”

In conclusion, the sheriff said: “Shayne, you died a hero. Rest in peace.”

According to authorities, York, 26, and his 24-year-old fiancee--both off duty and unarmed--were at the De’Cuts salon in Buena Park on Aug. 14 when two gunmen stormed in about 9 p.m. While going through York’s wallet, the gunmen found the deputy’s badge and ordered him to lie face-down on the floor, authorities said. Even though York was polite and posed no threat, one of the robbers shot him in the back of the head, according to police. Although Parish also had her sheriff’s identification, her life was spared, apparently because she was a woman.

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Police arrested the two suspects several hours later, after a witness gave them a good description of the getaway car following a second holdup at a pizza restaurant in Fullerton. York was near death as he was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana that night, and was kept on life support until Saturday.

Charged with the killing are Andre Willis, 30, and Kevin Boyce, 27, who is accused of firing the fatal shot. Both men were on parole from state prison after serving time on robbery and weapons convictions.

Both are charged with two special circumstances that could result in a death penalty--murder during a robbery and murder during a burglary. Boyce is also charged with murdering a police officer who was in the course of doing his duty.

The robbers made off with $11 and Parish’s engagement ring, which York had had custom-made at a jewelry store that had advertised in the department’s monthly magazine. Block said a team of deputies plan to search the area where the suspects were arrested, along the Artesia Freeway, to see if they can find the missing ring. The two deputies--who had met while working as custody officers at the Pitchess Detention Center-East in Castaic--were engaged to be married in June.

After the church services Thursday, a motorcade made up of about 150 police cars followed the hearse to Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. Along the route, residents came out of their homes and businesses to watch. Some people waved American flags; others stood silently, their hands placed over their hearts.

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Hundreds of sheriff’s deputies who worked with York as guards at Pitchess East arrived at the funeral in seven sheriff’s jail buses usually used to transport inmates.

York’s family said they were touched by the outpouring of emotion.

Brandon York, 25, said he looked up to his older brother. He said he had always considered Shayne his best friend.

“One of my proudest moments was when Shayne called to tell me he asked [Parish] to marry him and that he wanted me to be his best man,” he said. “I used to tell him that since he was born first that he was just a rough draft and that I was the final copy. But I always knew that he was the final copy because I was always trying to be just like him.”

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Friends and co-workers described York--whose father also was a sheriff’s deputy--as an amiable man who always was willing to lend a helping hand.

“He was a real good guy all the way around,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Jesus Villanueva, who attended the Sheriff’s Academy with York two years ago. “I’ll always remember his smile.”

During their time at the academy, some recruits buckled under the pressure, but not York. His classmates recalled him always keeping his cool and making the right decisions. Arthur Thomas said the confidence and positive attitude he exuded earned York the nickname “Stealth.”

“When they say he led by example, he did,” said Thomas, who last saw York during a January training seminar.

Deputy Matthew Seier said York’s death was particularly difficult for him and many of his classmates because York was the first graduate from their 89-member class to be killed in the line of duty. Also, Seier’s in-laws live only a few blocks from where York was killed, in a neighborhood Seier said is generally safe and quiet.

“It was really hard for me the first couple of days,” Seier said. “We always go for walks there and for the first few days after Shayne’s death I kept thinking about what he must have gone through; what it was like to be in that spot.”

As York’s friends and family grieved, it was learned Thursday that at least two other Los Angeles County prosecutors and a judge were in a position to review the decision that allowed one of York’s alleged killers to be on the streets rather than behind bars when the shooting occurred.

On Wednesday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Hall acknowledged that in 1994 he charged Willis as a second-time felon--rather than a “third strike” defendant--because he did not notice that a 1988 robbery conviction in Ontario involved multiple victims. That oversight meant that Willis, arrested again in December 1994 for possessing a gun as an ex-felon, received a 32-month prison sentence when, if convicted, he could have been sent away for 25 years to life under California’s “three strikes” law.

Hall’s decision could have been questioned--even halted--as Willis’ case made its way from the early plea bargain discussions to his February 1995 sentencing in Compton Superior Court, interviews show.

After Hall called for prosecuting the case as a “second strike,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Margaret McNair was assigned to the courtroom the day Willis publicly accepted the agreement.

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At the time of sentencing, the review shows, another seasoned prosecutor, Linda Puentes, was asked to appear in Judge Rose Hom’s courtroom for the formal imposition of the sentence.

And while it is unclear how much time the judge or the other prosecutors spent reviewing the then-routine case, authorities say, the file would have included all the criminal history information about Willis required to show that his 1994 case could have been considered a “third strike.”

“There are other people who could have done something about [Hall’s mistake] at a later stage,” said one veteran prosecutor who declined to be identified.

Another prosecutor who now heads the district attorney’s Compton office agreed that, as with any case, there were opportunities--after Hall’s decision--for other officials to question his action.

“It appears that other people had the opportunity to review it,” said Compton’s head deputy district attorney, David Traum. “I don’t know how much time they were given. . . . I don’t know the circumstances of what went on.”

Traum also declined to comment on whether prosecutor Hall should accept the sole blame for the prison sentence given to Willis.

“I am not going to speculate on who should be accepting what degree of responsibility for the case,” Traum said. “The facts are the facts. You can draw your own conclusions.”

Traum added: “The bottom line is that Willis should have been in prison for 25 years. It was a mistake. We don’t make them often, but they happen.”

Prosecutors McNair and Puente both said they could not recall Willis’ 1994 case in any detail.

Judge Hom did not return phone calls regarding the case.

Hall declined further remarks about the matter. “I have made all the comments that I want to about this case,” he said.

Times correspondent Tracy Johnson contributed to this story.