Smoke Signals
Tribal Member Plays Vital Role in Serial Killer's Arrest
Officer Cory Turman of the Spokane Police Department ticketed suspect; I "
made critical observations. !':. )
6
By Brent Merrill
Spokane Police Officer Cory
Turman, a Grand Ronde Tribal
member, knew the suspect in a
string of serial killings plaguing the
area drove a white 1977 Corvette.
Spokane resident Robert Lee
Yates, Jr. was recently arrested and
charged with the deaths-of eight
women in Spokane. Yates is also a
suspect in two murders in the
Tacoma area and may be implicated
in the deaths of 24 women in Ger
many were he was stationed while
in the Air Force.
The Corvette Yates was driving
when Turman pulled him over
turned out to be the last vehicle in
which 16 year-old victim Jennifer
Joseph was seen alive.
Turman, a six-year veteran of the
police force, was tipped off on what
to look for by the Homicide Task
Force as he started one of his shifts.
"I was working patrol and the
people in charge of investigating the
serial killer called the homicide
task force came to all the officers
at roll call and give us various ve
hicles that they were interested in,"
said Turman. "This one (the Cor
vette) turned out to be the last ve
hicle that a (woman) by the name of
Jennifer Joseph was seen in. They
said 'if you see any of those get the
information on them.' I was work
ing the downtown area at the time
down on East Sprague.
"I stopped him and did what we call
a field interview and just got some
information," said Turman. "Where
he works, where he lives, what he's
driving, what he's wearing, jewelry,
tattoos, anything like that. I filled
out that form and sent it to the ho
micide task force. That vehicle
turned out to be a vehicle that they
got a search warrant for and it turned
out that they found Jennifer Joseph's
blood in there, a button from her
clothing and some fibers that
matched her clothing."
The task force received over 6,000
tips on the Yates case.
Yates, 47, was an unlikely murder
suspect. He lived with his wife and
five daughters in a split-level home
in the South Hill section of Spokane.
Yates was a retired Air Force heli
copter pilot who moved his family to
Spokane in early 1996. The string
of serial killings followed Yates to
Spokane.
DNA evidence linking Yates to the
murders was found in 12 cars that
Yates either owned or had owned in
the past.
"Once he was a suspect, everything
just started fitting together for them,"
said Turman. "He (Yates) had al
ready sold the car. Then, when they
started looking at him real hard, they
noticed that he had gone through
several vehicles. That one (the Cor
vette) had already been sold and they
had tracked it down to the owner
that had it and that is when they
searched the vehicle and found all
the evidence in there."
According to Turman's Sergeant,
Dan Torok, Turman played a key
part in the arrest of Yates.
"It (Turman's field report on Yates)
was the one piece of crucial evidence
that tied this guy to that car which
ultimately tied him to the Joseph ho
micide. In part, because of that in
formation, they were able to get a
search warrant for the guy's house
and cars. A massive investigation
seeking evidence began at that point."
7urman is an ideal
cop who goes above
and beyond the normal
duties of a patrolman.
Sergeant Dan Torok
Torok said Turman is an ideal cop
who goes above and beyond the nor
mal duties of a patrolman.
"Basically, what Cory did is he pro
vided a key piece in the puzzle," said
Torok. "He is a hard charging, hard
working guy. He has worked for me
for the last eight months. He is a good
investigator. He is a street cop. He
conducts excellent investigations on
the street. He is an excellent inter
viewerinvestigator. He can get people
to tell him things that they probably
really didn't want to tell him. ...
"He is an excellent problem solv
ing type cop," said Torok of Turman.
"Cory is at about eight or nine search
warrants for the year that he has
written himself that our team has
executed. Most patrolman don't
write search warrants. Usually, de
tectives write search warrants. So,
he is highly developed in the area of
search warrants and search warrant
preparation. He always gets the in
formation he needs to actually go in
and get a search warrant."
Dick Cottam, the Spokane Police
Department's Public Information Of
ficer, agreed with Torok and said
Turman's conduct as an officer is ex
emplary. . .
"He (Turman) is a very good of
ficer," said Cottam. "He is a nice
young man and a conscientious of
ficer who has been involved in a
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Cory Turman, a Spokane Police
Officer and Tribal member, pic
tured here with his son Tanner at
the 2000 Grand Ronde Pow-wow.
Turman is the son of Charlie and
Jean Turman. Photo by Brent Merrill
number of good cases."
Cottam said Turman's observa
tions show that the law enforcement
system in place, can work.
"Exactly. That is exactly the point
of it," said Cottam. You never know
when someone you encounter out on
the street is going to have something
come up later."
Yates is currently in jail awaiting
trail on a $1.5 million bond. Yates
was arraigned on May 31, 2000 and
entered a plea of not guilty.
Spokane County Prosecutor Steve
Tucker will seek the death penalty
for Yates. Yates trial may not begin
until the fall of 2001.
Casino Employes Saves Lives with -Heroic" Rescue
18 year-old Russell Irwin led people out of a burning bus suffering burns and smoke inhalation.
By Brent Merrill
Life has been pretty crazy lately for Dallas teenager Russell Irwin. First,
he got married. Then, he got a new job. Next, he became a hero.
After finishing his shift at the Grand Ronde Tribe's Spirit Mountain Ca
sino as a prep cook, Irwin was on his way home when he came across a
burning tour bus that also had just left the casino. Irwin acted quickly
and began helping passengers get off the bus to safety.
"I came over the hill and when I did, the charter bus was on fire," said
Irwin. "In order to miss the bus, I had to pull my emergency brake other
wise I would have hit them. They had cars scattered all over that hill.
Irwin said he didn't have time to think.
"I got out of the car and ran down to the bus," said Irwin. "I asked
(someone) near the bus if they got everybody off the bus and he said there
were still -people in there. They were pushing to get out. So, I went up
over the seats and I got into the back end of the bus where the fire was at
and started pulling people out of the bus. The guy that was helping me
said after the sixth time I went into the bus I passed out on the stairs and
he yanked me off the bus. Then, I went to the hospital."
Irwin, who had splatter burns on his chest and first and second-degree
burns on his arms, said he didn't feel like a hero. He said he just had to
help if he could.
'You do what you have to," said Irwin. "When I came on the scene, there
were people just standing there watching and I saw a couple of people
drive by. I don't really see how anybody could do that."
The bus started to deteriorate around him on his last trip into the burn
ing vehicle.
"The rubber on the floor of the bus was all gooey," said Irwin of the
inferno. "I got chemical burns from the seats. They were pretty hot. I also
got chemical burns in my throat and in my mouth because of the toxic
fumes. I don't really remember too much after that. I just remember the
ambulance came and got me." t ,
According to Oregon State Police on scene, a mechanical problem in the
bus' engine caused the fire. . ' ' (
After rescuing some of the bus' senior citizens, Irwin was transported to
the Dallas Hospital. Irwin was treated for first and second degree burns
and smoke inhalation.
"He is obviously a hero I think," said Spirit Mountain's interim CEO Bob
Watson. "Certainly he would be a hero in the eyes of those people who
could have been trapped on that bus without his presence of mind to jump
in and save them. He really put their safety ahead of his own. We're very
proud of that." V
Irwin's 18 year-old wife, Anna, said she thought about being mad at her
husband even though they had only been married a few days. She de
cided to be proud of him instead.
"When it happened I was sleeping," said Anna. "I woke up to a phone
call. The only thing they told me was something about a bus fire and
something about Russ. They said they would keep me posted and they
hung up. So, I didn't know what to think. I told him I'm not mad at him
for what he did, I'm proud of being his wife. He has a big heart and I know
he would do it again."
Irwin returned to work last week.