SENATOR'S SON INDICTED; DRUG RING ALLEGED

The son of a state senator and a Henderson attorney have been indicted in
what police in Western Kentucky call a breakup of a ring that moved
"hundreds of pounds" of methamphetamine.

Michael David Herron, a Henderson real estate agent and son of Sen. Paul
Herron, was indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to possess with the
intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abetting the drug's
distribution, according to the office of the U.S. attorney for the Western
District of Kentucky. Eight others were indicted on the same charges, a
statement from the U.S. attorney's office said.

Each faces at least 10 years in prison if convicted and up to a $4 million
fine.

The 54-year-old Herron, attorney Edwin "Eddie" Jones and two others were
arrested Wednesday night on the federal indictments. Police found cocaine
on Jones, 37, as he was arrested in front of his downtown office in
Henderson, police said. The five others were arrested in January.

Herron, Jones, Tommy Singleton, 41, of Beaver Dam and Jewell Sorrels, 25,
of Drakesboro were jailed in the Henderson County Detention Center
Wednesday night and taken to federal court in Owensboro for arraignments
Thursday. Herron was released on bond at the hearing.

Herron, also an auctioneer, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Sen. Paul Herron, a Henderson Democrat, reached by phone yesterday, said he
considered his son's arrest a private matter.

"I do not know anything about the situation. . . . I am sorry this has
happened," said the senator, who at 77 is the oldest member of the Kentucky
General Assembly.

The indictment said the nine people charged conspired to distribute 500
grams or more of methamphetamines between January 1997 and last month.

All nine are accused of distributing "hundreds of pounds of
methamphetamines in Western Kentucky, specifically Hopkins, Christian and
Henderson counties," according to a statement from the Pennyrile Narcotics
Task Force.

Cheyenne Albro, head of the Madisonville-based Pennyrile Task Force, said
he couldn't talk about Herron's alleged role in the ring.