BLOCK WARNS OF SCHEME.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Nearly two weeks after Deputy Shayne York was fatally shot, Sheriff Sherman Block on Wednesday warned the public not to give money to telephone solicitors pretending to represent a department charity.

As sympathy cards, letters of condolence and donations continue to be sent to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in York's name, Block used his monthly news conference to alert the public to fund-raising scams that attempt to tap into public sorrow to coax donations to a bogus cause.

``I just want people to know that if they are contacted by anyone soliciting funds for anything related to the death of Deputy Shayne York, that there is no such program in place for phone solicitations,'' Block said in a City New Service report.

``There has been a growth in fraudulent telephone solicitations, where these people will seize upon some tragic event and make phone calls soliciting (money) for some kind of special fund that's (supposedly) being set up in the name of the individual,'' Block added.

York, a Valencia resident and jail guard at the Pitchess Detention Center, was mortally wounded off-duty Aug. 14 during a robbery at a Buena Park hair salon. He died two nights later.

Authorities say that the robbers found York's badge in his wallet, forced the 26-year-old deputy to lie on the floor and then shot him execution-style. Jennifer Parish, York's fiancee and fellow deputy at Pitchess, witnessed the shooting, but the robbers spared her life.

Now York's colleagues worry that scam artists will use the tragedy for personal gain.

``This happens all the time, and it has happened with York specifically,'' said Deputy Jim Hellmold, a Sheriff's Department spokesman. ``Ever since the shooting itself, and the mass media coverage, that's when (the phony solicitations) started,'' he said.

``We have received several calls from citizens complaining or inquiring about the validity of certain groups,'' Hellmold added. Callers should be suspicious of a solicitor's credibility when he refuses to leave an address or return phone number of the organization, instead asking prospective donors to send money to a post office box, he said.

Another sure sign of a con game is when the organization doesn't have a federal identification number denoting their tax-exempt status as a bona fide charity, Hellmold said. ``And they're very rude. They use pressure tactics. I think that's the strongest indication that they're not legitimate.''

Perhaps the most unexpected show of support has come from inmates at the county jail complex in Saugus, where York had worked since his graduation from the Sheriff's Academy in November 1995.

``You should see some of the letters,'' said Capt. Taylor Moorehead, commander of the maximum security East Facility, where York and Parish met as guards at the 2,000-inmate jail.

``The inmates are expressing sympathy and outrage and condolences,'' Moorehead said. ``I have some that were signed by all the inmates in an entire dorm. Inmates have approached the dorm (deputies) and told them they're sorry about what happened,'' the captain added.

``We're not necessarily their enemies, but we're their keepers,'' Moorehead said. ``That was probably the most amazing part about the whole thing. We have a lot of murderers in here - this is a maximum-security facility. They're not in (jail) because they're the models of society, but the (inmates) still have human decency.''

The general public was touched by the killing as well. ``We had a lady who drove all the way out here from Inglewood,'' Moorehead said. ``She delivered a card and some flowers.''

Sheriff's deputies plan to erect a memorial to York at the jail complex. Moorehead said donations can be sent to:

The Shayne York Memorial Fund, Pitchess Detection Center, East Facility, 29310 The Old Road, Castaic, CA 91384.