European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 16, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday january 16, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 7 clerk accused of 2 killings William l. Stiff by the los Angeles times Riverside. Calif. A Beefy Stock clerk who served 10 years in a Texas prison for the beating death of his infant daughter was charged tuesday with two of the 19 killings of women that have haunted Riverside county since 1986. Detectives said William Lester Suff. 41, of Colton. Calif., is being investigated in the other 17 murders of women who were known prostitutes or drug users. But Riverside county sheriff Cois Byrd addressing a crowded press conference said that authorities have no evidence that implicates Suff in More than two murders. Quot there is Strong evidence linking or. Suff to the murders of Riverside prostitutes Catherine Mcdonald 31. And Eleanor o. Casares 39, two of the three most recent victims that have been attributed to a serial killer Byrd said. Riverside is about 50 Miles East of l of Angeles. Despite the sheriff s cautious winds some Law enforcement authorities seemed to characterize stiff s arrest As a total Triumph in the Long running investigation Quot we re All relieved that an end to these killings is in sight Riverside police chief Linford Quot Sonny Quot Richardson told reporters. Suff a native of Torrance calif., who spent most of his adult life in Texas was charged with the two homicides during a videotaped Jailhouse proceeding tuesday. He is being he4d without bail at Riverside s Central county jail and will enter a plea at his arraignment on feb. 4, said Public defender Floyd Zagorsky. Stiffs attorney. Suff was arrested purely by Chance at 9 30 . On Jan. 9, one Block from University Avenue. The Busy Boulevard near downtown Riverside is the Hub of the local prostitution Trade and where Many of the victims were last seen alive. Riverside police officer Frank Orta stopped stiff s 1989 Mitsubishi Van when it made a a turn after pausing beside an alleged prostitute said sheriff s it. A1 Hearn supervisor of the 14-member serial killer task Force. Hearn said that the officer found irregularities on stiff s vehicle registration and noticed his Drivers License had expired Orta arrested Suff and the vehicle was impounded. Unidentified items that Quot caused suspicion Quot were found in the vehicle and the serial killer task Force was notified 1 learn said. On Friday investigators obtained search warrants and removed items Quot of a scientific nature Quot from stiffs Home said i  fighting prison limits offered help by the Washington Post Washington a the Justice department dramatically reversed policy tuesday and announced it would assist states seeking to lift court imposed limits on their prison populations if the limits Are not essential to protect prisoners constitutional rights. The announcement by attorney general William p. Barr Drew immediate criticism from prisoner rights groups which said lifting the limits would Worsen prison conditions and increase the threat of violent outbreaks. Forty five states and the District of Columbia now operate under court orders governing prison populations or other prison conditions a some As the result of suits that the Justice department helped to bring. But Barr in a speech before the California District attorneys association tuesday in Palm Springs said a the Choice is Clear. More prison space or More  the policy is Barros second move in two weeks to address the problem of violent crime. Last week Barr announced that he was shifting 300 Fri agents from foreign counterintelligence to violent crime investigations. Barr said the Federal prison system operates at 165 percent of its designed capacity far More than most state systems. The population in state prisons averages 115 percent of the designed capacity. If state prisons could operate at the same level As Federal prisons Barr said Quot that would mean an additional 286,000 inmate  Elizabeth Alexander Deputy director of the National prison project said Barr appeared to be ignorant about prison life. A we Are talking about two people spending often up to 23, 24 hours a Day in a space that is about the size of the average american bathroom a she  two men dressed in knee High boots Wude along l Street in Northwest Washington where a break in a waterline tuesday dumped up to 20 million Gallons of water into stores businesses and underground parking garages. The broken line flooded an eight Square Block downtown area. It was the second Utility related incident to hit the City in two weeks. On Jan. 6, much of the Central area suffered a two hour blackout. Fri s big asset May be electronics Washington apr Law enforcement officials and experts say the addition of 300 Fri agents to the War against violent Street gangs could make an important difference a provided they come armed with electronics instead of guns. The added manpower alone wont mean that much especially if the a men set out to duplicate the Mission of undercover cops Many say. But they Point out that the technical weaponry at the of big a disposal including electronic intelligence gathering networks could enhance the arsenals of local police. Quot they can do what the local Law enforcement agencies perhaps done to want to do such As dealing with accounting procedures to determine if Money is being laundered a said Geoffrey p. Alpert a University of South Carolina criminal Justice professor. And the nationwide intelligence links at the Fri s disposal could add depth to local investigations said capt. Michael Andrew chief of the Baltimore City police departments drug enforcement Section. Attorney general William p. Barr announced last week that because of the demise of communist regimes in Eastern Europe the Fri will redeploy 300 agents from counter espionage work to investigations of Street gangs blamed for drug killings and other violence. Others were wary of expecting too much. A three Hundred men for 39 cities a that a really going to make a Dent a scoffed Richard r. Bennett an american University Justice professor lie also questioned whether spy chasers will make Good Street gang investigators. A if they re expected to go out and work the streets it la be an utter failure a Bennett said. But it they Quot carry on with the Type of counterintelligence they did in the past then they might have an effect have the ability to collect information on those  what the agents will do will be decided by the special agents in charge of each Field office said Fri spokesman Bill Carter. A what is Good in Washington May not be Good in other cities Quot he  charged with 4 rapes los Angeles up a a Veteran City police officer was charged t tuesday with raping Lour women while on duty last year in South los Angeles and shooting a fifth woman in the leg when she tied from him in an off duty incident. Officer Garnier Beasley 31, is accused of being a serial rapist who preyed on prostitutes Over a five month period from May to september 1991. Deputy District attorney Scott Gordon of the special investigations division said investigators also believe there May be other victims who they urged to Contact the police department or the District attorneys office. In two of the alleged rapes Beasley a training officer had a probationary officer with him in his marked patrol car said Sandi Gibbons a spokeswoman for the District attorneys office. In the other two rape cases charged against him Beasley was alone in a marked patrol car she said