Inmates Also Mourn for Deputy Slain in Robbery

The death of a young Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, who was shot execution-style during a holdup and taken off life support two days ago, even left some of the jail inmates he guarded grieving about the loss Sunday.

“Even though we’re on the opposite sides of the gates, we’re all still part of the human family,” wrote one inmate at the Pitchess Detention Center-East facility where Deputy Shayne York had worked. “Even though we disagreed on occasion, he respected me and I respected him and his position.”

Sheriff’s officials Sunday received half a dozen hastily written letters and numerous comments from inmates at the facility--considered one of the toughest in the county--expressing condolences and sorrow over the 26-year-old’s death Saturday night.

“Many of the inmates have come forward,” Sheriff’s Capt. Taylor Moorehead said. “That’s got to tell you something.”

York, a two-year department veteran and the son of a retired deputy, worked as a “prowler” at the jail, patrolling dormitories in the maximum-security section. His bosses said he had a calm, cool demeanor and was respected by inmates and admired by colleagues.

“He’d be the kind of person, if you called 911, that you would want to knock on your door,” said one deputy. “He was an upstanding, fine, decent young man. . . . He always had a smile on his face and a kind word for everyone.”

York was shot once in the back of the head during a robbery of an Orange County beauty salon Thursday when two armed men rifled through his personal effects and came upon the off-duty officer’s badge. His fiancee, Deputy Jennifer Parish, who was also off duty, was with him at the time of the holdup and witnessed the shooting. The bandits spared her life, reportedly because she is a woman.

“This is a tragedy unprecedented in my experience and time,” said Moorehead, who supervised both York and Parish.

On Sunday, York’s family and fiancee remained in seclusion.

Meanwhile, Buena Park police continued to be tight-lipped about the two suspects they have in custody in connection with the slaying, refusing to discuss the case or identify the pair. The suspects, who were described only as two men ages 26 and 30, are expected to be arraigned today.

Sheriff’s officials said York’s slaying has deeply shaken their deputies, confirming their beliefs that today’s criminals are extremely violent and have no compunction about killing a police officer.

“There is no question in my mind he was executed only because he was a deputy sheriff,” said Moorehead, who was with the family when York was taken off life support. “Let’s be thankful that these predators are in custody.”

“These two dirt bags took my friend. Executed him,” said Deputy Robert Gillis, 26. “They deserve the chair.”

York’s death stirred debate among sheriff’s deputies about whether they should carry their badges when they are off duty. One department source said deputies are encouraged to carry their guns if they carry their badges, but it is up to them.

York, who was cooperative with the gunmen, was unarmed.

After shooting York, the gunmen fled the beauty salon with $11 and Parish’s engagement ring.

York survived on life-support systems for about 48 hours, but doctors said he had no hope of recovery. On Saturday, family members took York off life support.

In the small mountain community of Frazier Park, just across the Kern County line, locals who knew York as a boy phoned each other to deliver news of the slaying, and the bishop at the local Mormon church announced his death from the pulpit during morning services.

Outside the church, which York had attended before moving from the area several years ago, friends remembered a shy, athletic teenager with a special love for baseball.

And 20-year resident Jean Davis recalled, “He was very handsome. My daughter had a crush on him for years.”

Across the street from the church, longtime resident Bob Conner, a member of the local school board and former Little League coach, sat on his sofa and shook his head. “What a nice boy he was. Just nice.

“When there’s a name on [a slaying],” Conner added somberly, “when it’s somebody you knew, it’s just a shock.”

Funeral arrangement are pending, authorities said.

Times staff writers Eric Slater and Tina Daunt and Times correspondent Mimi Ko Cruz contributed to this story.