KENTUCKY SHERIFF SLAYING ECHOES DEKALB CASE

Somerset, Kentucky --- Jeffrey Morris carried a grudge ever since the day
last summer when he was forced out of the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department.

One way or another, Morris would get revenge. And some drug-dealing buddies
would benefit.

Morris would bring low Sheriff Sam Catron, who was responsible for Morris'
exit from police work.

He decided the usual route -- defeating Catron at the polls -- might be the
most sublime way of ousting his nemesis. But the popular four-term sheriff
was expected to beat Morris handily in next month's Republican primary.

So Morris went to Plan B.

He decided to kill Catron.

That, at least, is the story Kentucky law enforcement officials offered
Tuesday as they all but wrapped up their investigation into the
assassination slaying of Catron on Saturday night.

They also painted an unsavory picture of Morris' association with a hit man
and a drug dealer -- campaign supporters who stood to profit handsomely
with the drug-fighting Catron out of the way.

Morris is expected to plead innocent Friday.

'Drugs Play A Part'

The commonwealth's attorney for this little-populated, hilly region of
southeastern Kentucky announced Tuesday he would seek the death penalty
against Morris and his alleged accomplices.

Catron's death is eerily reminiscent of the murder of Derwin Brown, the
DeKalb County sheriff-elect gunned down outside his home in December 2000.
Former Sheriff Sidney Dorsey stands accused of orchestrating Brown's death.

But with the lightning-fast arrests of the suspects, one of whom has
allegedly confessed, prosecutors and police say they'll avoid DeKalb's
wrenching -- and, so far, unsuccessful -- sojourn to justice.

"The first thought that came to my mind was, 'Oh my God, it's happening
again,' " said Brown's widow, Phyllis Brown. "Anybody losing a life for a
political position is appalling, because most people run on a platform that
they want to be a public servant."

Kentucky State Police arrested Morris, 34, on Monday and charged him with
complicity to commit murder of a police officer. Kenneth "Fingers" White,
54, a suspected drug dealer, was charged with the same crime.

Danny Shelley, 30, the alleged triggerman, was charged with capital murder.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency was investigating Shelley before the
shooting, the Lexington Herald-Leader said.

"It's obvious what the motive is --- it's political," said Commonwealth's
Attorney Eddy Montgomery, who is expected to prosecute the trio. "Sam was
the front-runner. He was a popular sheriff. Mr. Morris was a long shot. He
might have convinced himself that if he got rid of Sam, his chances of
being sheriff would go up."

And the drugs?

"Drugs play a part in it," Montgomery said. "But I don't want to get into
that. But I do think they are related."

Catron, 48, seemed a shoo-in for re-election. He was a born crime fighter.
His father, Somerset police chief for most of the 1950s, was also shot in
the line of duty. He died seven years later from complications.

Catron, who was unmarried, lived with his mother. Both attended Saturday's
fund-raising fish fry at the Shopville-Stab Volunteer Fire Department, 10
miles east of Somerset.

"He was a man of a few words," said Charles David Hawk, the department's
chaplain. "He said, 'My name is Sam Catron. I'm running for sheriff and I'd
like you to vote for me.' But everybody knew him. He didn't need to speak
much."

'We got lucky'

Jeffrey Morris and 350 others also attended the fish fry and cake auction.

Catron bought three cakes, returning a $45 one to auctioneer Hawk for resale.

Catron placed the Chess Square Cake into the back seat of his cruiser and
stood to fetch the chocolate bundt cake when a single bullet slammed into
the left side of his head. He died instantly.

His camouflaged assailant must have known that Catron always wore a
bulletproof vest. The shooter jumped on a motorcycle --- registered to
Morris --- and sped off. But not before stopping once to make sure the
lawman wasn't moving, Hawk said. A fireman and a deputy gave chase and
apprehended the gunman five miles away.

Tuesday morning, sitting outside the Fire Department and staring at the
makeshift shrine to Catron fashioned from plastic flowers and campaign
signs, Hawk conjured his own ideas about the motive for the sheriff's demise:

"It was politics, but looking at the whole picture, it was drug people
wanting control of the county so they could have their way with the drugs,"
Hawk said. "Of course, with Morris as sheriff, he'd turn his head to their
business."

The state's public defenders' office could not be reached Tuesday evening.
Morris and White will be arraigned Friday. Shelley, who has confessed to
police, according to court documents, pleaded innocent when he appeared in
court Monday.

Morris, who started as a sheriff's deputy in 1996, left the department "as
a result of an internal disciplinary action" last July, said new Sheriff
Jim McWhorter. He went to work for his father-in-law's plumbing business
before deciding to run for sheriff.

Morris, who ran on a pledge to fight drugs, relied on White during the
campaign. White put up campaign signs, registered voters and performed
myriad campaign chores for Morris, locals say. Shelley, who signed Morris'
candidate registration form, also helped on the campaign.

According to the charges, Morris, White and Shelley plotted to kill the
sheriff once his re-election campaign kicked into high gear. Morris wanted
power and White and Shelley wanted a friend in the sheriff's office, the
report says.

White was charged last April with receiving stolen property and possession
of cocaine. Those charges were dismissed in October. He had previously been
charged with trafficking in cocaine, morphine and other drugs.

An informant told investigators he had bought OxyContin, a prescription
painkiller, from White, court documents say, and reported seeing chemicals
used to make methamphetamine in White's house.

In a huge drug bust two years ago, Catron arrested dozens of people for
dealing OxyContin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana.

"I can't say that's directly related [to Catron's death], but obviously you
have an aggressive sheriff and people in that trade who are not real happy
with him," prosecutor Montgomery said.

It sounds sadly familiar to what transpired in DeKalb County. After a
lengthy and frustrating investigation, five men were charged with murdering
Brown.

Two men who admitted roles in the killing struck deals for immunity. Two
other defendants were acquitted last month. Only Dorsey's trial remains.
"We have a good case -- but we got lucky when we caught [Shelley] that
night," said Montgomery. "That makes the investigation go a whole lot
quicker. Hopefully, we won't run into the problems that they did in Atlanta."

Staff writer Mae Gentry contributed to this article.