2 Held in Deputy’s Shooting

BUENA PARK —  Two men were in police custody Friday as the suspected gunmen who shot an unarmed, off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy execution-style during a takeover robbery.

The deputy, 26-year-old Shayne York, remained in critical condition late Friday with major brain damage, and his family was faced with deciding whether to disconnect the breathing apparatus keeping him alive. He was not expected to survive.

York and his fiance, Jennifer Parish, also a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, were waiting for haircuts at a Buena Park salon where Parish’s sister works when two robbers burst in late Thursday.

The gunmen stole $11, Parish’s engagement ring and some other personal effects before realizing at least one of their victims was a deputy, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block. York was then shot in the back of the head, Block said.

Block arrived at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana on Friday and, after huddling with York’s grieving family, told reporters he was devastated that a deputy was shot solely because he carried a badge.

“I’ve been on this department more than 40 years, and I can’t recall a more cold-blooded crime,” Block said. “This was a pure execution.”

Police and prosecutors were withholding the names of the two suspected assailants, who were arrested after allegedly committing another robbery shortly after the shooting.

A Fullerton police officer on the lookout for the suspected assailants spotted the pair driving toward the Los Angeles County line about two hours after York was gunned down at the De’ Cut hair salon near Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park.

Throughout Thursday night and Friday, sobbing family members and somber-faced deputies rushed to the hospital as doctors labored over the wounded deputy.

By Friday afternoon, Block said York’s relatives knew there was only the slimmest of hopes that the deputy would recover.

Block said the family was told by doctors that the fallen deputy would likely live only another 72 hours, and less if he was unhooked from medical machines helping him breathe.

“They’re resigned to the fact,” Block said. “They’re preparing themselves.”

*

“They’re still very much in shock,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Debra J. Glaskides said of the family.

The deputies were at the small salon shop to visit Parish’s sister--the sole employee there at the time--when two armed bandits barged in about 9 p.m. and ordered everyone to the floor, according to Buena Park Police Sgt. Ken Coovert.

“It was a complete takeover robbery,” Coovert said. “What happened next was just cold-blooded and completely senseless.”

Throughout the tense showdown, York had been cooperative, even polite, authorities said.

But that didn’t stop what happened next, police said.

“After they saw his badge or ID, they shot him,” Coovert said. “They shot an unarmed man from behind, a man who posed no threat at all. They did it just because he was a police officer. The minute they found out he was a deputy, they shot him.”

It was not clear Friday if the suspects knew Parish was also a law enforcement officer, Coovert said.

Police said the same two men who shot York then drove to Yorba Linda, where they robbed a Lamppost Pizza about 10 p.m. Witnesses said the robbers sped off in a white Ford Mustang convertible and gave suspect descriptions that matched Parish’s account.

A countywide police bulletin caught the ear of Fullerton Police Officer Scott Marple, who was patrolling Harbor Boulevard about 10:45 p.m. when he saw a Mustang enter a ramp on the westbound Riverside Freeway.

The veteran officer trailed the car and followed it west, confirming that the car’s occupants matched the description of the gunmen and calling for back-up.

After police swarmed the area, the suspected assailants were arrested without incident in the freeway’s center median near the Knott Avenue exit, Coovert said.

Authorities searched the car Friday but Coovert said he was not certain if weapons or items from the salon robbery were recovered.

The suspected assailants were described only as a 30-year-old and a 26-year-old. Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn Kirkwood said she would not disclose any information on a pending case, and Coovert said his agency was withholding the names at the request of the district attorney.

The men were booked on suspicion of robbery and attempted murder, but could face a murder charge and the death penalty if York dies, officials said.

Investigators said they believed the gunmen selected the hair salon and pizza parlor because both were close to freeways, and tucked off the street to cloak a quick getaway, Coovert said.

*

The ashen-faced Block said the shooting had badly rattled his vast agency. York and Parish were both relatively new to the force, in uniform just two years. They met while working together at the Sheriff’s Pitchess Detention Center-East Facility in Castaic.

One department official said the young couple met on the job and had plans to marry in June. Parish’s birthday was Friday, when she turned 24, according to records.

The couple shared one strong bond--both were raised in households where their fathers wore the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s uniform.

York’s father retired after 19 years on the force, while Parish’s father is a Lakewood deputy among the department’s 9,000 sworn officers.

“Since he was 8 years old, [York] wanted to be a deputy,” Block said. “Not just a police officer, but a deputy. Just like his father.”

At the detention facility in Castaic, word spread quickly Friday that a fellow deputy had been gunned down with no chance to defend himself, according to Capt. Taylor Moorehead, one of York’s supervisors.

“This is an attempted execution,” Moorehead said. “It’s just plain and simple that because he was a deputy sheriff, that is why he was shot. Right now, his colleagues are devastated and they’re praying for his recovery.”

*

Moorehead said the tall, lanky York was often called “Sergeant York” by his peers, a reference to the character played by Gary Cooper in the classic 1941 film depicting a heroic World War I soldier.

The deputy earned the respect of his co-workers for keeping a cool head in a pressure-filled job, Moorehead said.

“One of the most easygoing deputy sheriffs that I have here . . . a great personality, he always cheered everybody up and he never got excited,” Moorehead said.

Moorehead said he has talked to Parish several times since the attack, and her emotional state is what might be expected. “It was her fiance. She was absolutely devastated.”

A gray mood hung over the detention facility staff Friday, with everyone hungry for status reports on their wounded colleague and coping with their own sense of grief and vulnerability.

“Obviously, everyone here is shocked,” said Operations Sgt. Steve Wilson, a 37-year-old supervisor at the facility near Six Flags Magic Mountain. “Both are hard-working and well-liked. Everyone is walking around quiet and introspective. . . . The mood is definitely somber.”

“I had lunch with Shayne on Thursday,” said Wilson, his voice breaking. “We just happened to be talking about retirement and planning for the future. . . .”

Wilson said York told him he planned to accompany Parish to her sister’s hair salon for an after-hours haircut. The scenario of York’s shooting plays out like a nightmare for police officers, he said.

“If they recognize you as an officer and want to do you harm, you are in a bad position at that point.”

John and Melanie Ayers, former owners of the salon, were tending the shop while the new owner was in France, they said. They entered the shop early Friday to begin the arduous task of cleaning up.

Melanie Ayers said loyal customers stopped by all day, leaving cards and flowers.

“Everybody wants to know how everybody is and everyone wants to help,” she said.

The shock of the killing still resonated Friday evening at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

“They were robbed,” she said. “I guess you become callous to [violence]. And then it happens to you.”

Also contributing to this report were Times staff writer Julie Tamaki, correspondents Mimi Ko Cruz and Kevin O’Leary and Times librarian Sheila Kern.