THE MYSTERY OF BILL TANNEBRING

CRIME Classy. That’s the way many people recall Bill Tannebring, the Dallas TV producer who turned out such gems as the famous BLACKIE SHERROD spot that showed the veteran sports scribe typing his way across town to his new home at The Dallas Morning News.

Not so classy-and alll but inexplicable- is the fact that Tannebring, 52, a man with no previous criminal record, recently landed in a Los Angeles County jail cell, charged with, literally, highway robbery.

Tannebring was accused of pulling at least nine robberies by flashing a phony police I.D., directing drivers to pull over, then robbing them, netting some $2,300. Besides three loaded handguns found in Tannebring’s car, police found several law enforcement I.D.s in his home.

But a lineup failed to identify him, and Tannebring was released on Thanksgiving with all charges dropped.

According to Los Angeles Sheriffs detective Basil North, possession of loaded handguns in a vehicle is a misdemeanor, but Tannebring has already spent more time in jail than a sentence on that charge wouldrequire.

A police badge and I.D., reportedly stolen from the Dallas Police Department, were found on Tannebring and returned to Dallas police. As far as the other I.D.s are concerned, Detective North says, their possession is not illegal unless actually used without authorization.

As for Tannebring, who moved to California in 1988 to be near his estranged wife and two children, his Laguna Beach telephone has been disconnected. Perhaps he’s gone somewhere to ponder this identity crisis.