WIDOW DENIES SHERIFF WAS FLEEING AUTHORITIES

The widow of Coffee County Sheriff Carlton Evans denies her husband tried
to flee authorities and committed suicide to avoid arrest. In a six-page
letter, Karleen Evans says she doesn't believe the sheriff fled federal
authorities who came to his home to arrest him on drug charges. Evans was
accused of growing marijuana on his rural property and helping a small drug
ring distribute marijuana. Karleen Evans said she would oversee her own
investigation. Carlton Evans was to be arrested Oct 3. Officials say when
they tried to arrest Evans, he ran to a wooded area where he was later
found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. Douglas
Attorney James L. Wiggins says Evans knew how and when he would be
arrested. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation maintains that Evans killed
himself.