SHERIFF INDICTED ON DRUG CHARGES IS FOUND DEAD

(10-03) 19:07 PDT DOUGLAS, Ga. (AP) -- A county sheriff apparently shot
himself to death Tuesday after fleeing arrest on federal charges of
conspiracy to grow more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana.

An FBI agent and two Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents tried to arrest
Coffee County Sheriff Carlton Evans at his home Tuesday morning.

He fled and his body was found five hours later in a nearby wooded area,
said BGI spokesman John Bankhead.

Bankhead said it appeared the sheriff killed himself.

``Nobody else was seen in the area. It was one shot. Everything points to
that, but it's going to be investigated,'' he said.

Evans had been sheriff since 1989.

Officials said Evans was charged along with his brother, his brother-in-law,
two former deputies and five others. Conviction carries a sentence of 10
years to life in prison and a $4 million fine.