Killer of Deputy at Salon Convicted

A reputed gang member was convicted Tuesday of murdering an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy after discovering the victim’s badge during a robbery at a Buena Park hair salon.

The fiancee and relatives of Deputy Shayne York sobbed quietly as a jury pronounced Kevin Boyce guilty of first-degree murder with special circumstances that make him eligible for the death penalty.

The verdicts close the latest chapter in the 1997 slaying, which horrified peace officers in its seeming cold-bloodedness and the fact that the killer targeted York only because he worked in law enforcement.

Prosecutors alleged that Boyce shouted “white pig” before he shot the 26-year-old in the back of the head as the deputy lay next to his fiancee. York had become a deputy only two years earlier, fulfilling a lifelong ambition to follow in his father’s footsteps.

“I think we’ve all lived the nightmare over and over for the better part of three years,” said Melanie Ayers, who was the manager of the salon but was not present during the robbery. “There’s a bit of closure there.”

Boyce has insisted that he did not fire the fatal shot. Instead, his attorneys argued during the two-week trial that his accomplice in the takeover robbery, Andre Willis, was the one who pulled the trigger. Willis is scheduled to be tried later this year.

On Tuesday, Boyce sat silently as the courtroom clerk read the guilty verdicts to 11 counts, including murder, robbery and burglary. But later, Boyce expressed irritation with his attorneys when asked his thoughts during a hearing to discuss evidence for the penalty phase of the trial.

“I could care less,” he said sharply. “It’s not my decision. You’ve been running this whole show, and it’s all in your hands.”

Jurors will begin hearing testimony Monday to determine whether Boyce should be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

York and his fiancee, Jennifer Parish, were visiting De’ Cut Salon, where Parish’s sister worked, when two bandits burst into the shop, according to testimony.

Gunman Spared Lawman’s Fiancee

The robbers yelled racial slurs and ordered customers and employees to the floor, snatching valuables from everyone inside. When one of the bandits found a law enforcement badge in York’s wallet, he kicked York as he lay on the ground, according to testimony from Parish, also a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. The gunman asked York if he ever mistreated blacks and Crips gang members at Los Angeles County’s Pitchess Detention Center, where York worked.

York responded, “No, sir,” Parish testified.

Boyce, a Compton resident and an alleged Crips gang member, then pointed a pistol at the back of York’s head and squeezed the trigger, prosecutors said.

Parish testified she saw York’s body go limp as she felt his blood flowing onto her legs. She said she heard the gunman say, “I always wanted to kill a . . . pig.” The robbers found her badge but told her they did not kill women, she testified. But they did steal her custom-made engagement ring.

The two men fled the salon and later robbed a pizza parlor in Yorba Linda.

Police stopped and arrested Boyce and Willis later that day as the two men drove toward Los Angeles on the Riverside Freeway. Police said they found property taken during the robbery in the two men’s car.

A key part of the prosecution case was a tape-recorded interview in which Boyce admitted he killed York. Deputy Dist. Atty. David Brent told jurors that Boyce provided a detailed description of the shooting that matched witness accounts, which Brent argued proved the confession was genuine.

“I did everything; Mr. Willis didn’t do nothing,” Boyce told a district attorney investigator, according to a tape recording played in court.

Boyce’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Mark Davis, told jurors they should convict his client of first-degree murder. But, Davis argued, Boyce was not the shooter and should not be convicted of the special circumstance enhancements--including intentionally killing a peace officer.

Boyce falsely took the blame because he was the weaker of the two robbers, Davis argued. To prove his theory, Davis pointed to a conversation Boyce and Willis had at the Buena Park police station. Detectives put Boyce and Willis in the same holding room--outfitted with a hidden microphone--shortly after their arrests.

On the tape, Boyce told Willis, “I didn’t kill no police.” Willis does not challenge him, Davis noted.

“Why is it Willis never says, ‘You know what you did. Why don’t you just step up?’ ” Davis said. “Kevin Boyce is not a leader. He is a follower. You think Willis doesn’t know that?”

Davis told the jury to consider Boyce’s own admission that he was not happy with his life--evidence, the defense attorney argued, that Boyce would not mind taking the fall for his partner.

Witnesses identified Boyce in court. Police found bank cards belonging to York and Parish, as well as York’s badge, in the car Boyce and Willis were driving when they were arrested.

“He’s the killer,” Brent told jurors. “There’s ample evidence to show he is.”

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Times staff writer Stuart Pfeifer contributed to this report.