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From: Jean and Charlie
Date: 5/20/01
Time: 12:02:56 PM
Top News Lotteries International National Washington Business Wall Street Entertainment Health/Science Regional Sports Baseball Football Basketball Hockey Soccer College Tennis/Golf Other Sports Newsday.com News Sports Business Leisure Opinion Great Local Stuff Site Index AP National Mark Fuhrman Book Infuriates Police by JOHN K. WILEY Associated Press Writer SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- Former Detective Mark Fuhrman has written a new true-crime book accusing Spokane police of bungling a murder investigation, an allegation they hotly deny. In ''Murder in Spokane: Catching a Serial Killer,'' to be released Tuesday, Fuhrman contends serial killer Robert L. Yates could have been caught two years earlier if police had relied less on technology and more on footwork and intuition. Yates, who has confessed to killing 14 people, was arrested in April 2000. The book drew protests from the two police agencies whose members comprised the serial killer task force. ''We're proud of the fact that we caught our killer ... and Mark didn't,'' said Spokane County sheriff's spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan. ''And we don't want to help him sell his book.'' Sheriff Mark Sterk said Fuhrman had no access to law enforcement files or crime scenes. ''How do you write a factual book when you don't have information?'' he asked. ''This is all about making money for Mark Fuhrman, nothing else.'' Fuhrman, the former Los Angeles officer convicted of perjury for his testimony in the O.J. Simpson murder case, is author of ''Murder in Brentwood'' and ''Murder in Greenwich.'' Set to begin a national book-promotion tour Monday, he did not return several calls from The Associated Press. After Yates was arrested, Fuhrman congratulated police on his Spokane radio program. ''I have to say that I'm impressed. It looks like some pretty good police work,'' he said. Key to resolving the case was DNA evidence found in Yates' Corvette that linked him to the 1997 death of a 16-year-old runaway. Fuhrman now contends the task force ignored or overlooked crucial evidence about the Corvette -- evidence that could have resolved the case before nine women died in 1997 and 1998. Sterk denied the contention. AP-NY-05-19-01 2021EDT< 05/19/2001 Newsday Classifieds Visit the Shops of LI Yellow Pages