DRUG-DEAL SUSPECT IS SLAIN BY POLICE

A man suspected of dealing in drugs was shot to death by Kentucky State
Police yesterday in Letcher County.

The 62-year-old man from Virginia was shot twice, said Letcher County
Deputy Coroner Robbie Campbell, who pronounced him dead at the scene. The
victim's name is not being released until his family can be told.

Kentucky State Trooper Tim Kilburn, a public affairs officer at the Hazard
post, didn't know how many troopers shot the suspect. State police are not
releasing the names of any officers involved in the shooting.

The shooting occurred about 12:30 p.m. during a state police investigation
in Jenkins, a town of about 2,400 people. Kilburn said police were trying
to buy drugs from the man, though he wasn't sure whether an informant or an
officer was trying to make the purchase. Sometime during the transaction,
state police fired at the suspect.

Campbell said the incident happened on No. 3 Hill Road in Jenkins.

The victim's body was taken to the state medical examiner's office in
Frankfort, where an autopsy will be performed. Campbell and Kilburn said
that was typical procedure in a shooting death involving a Kentucky State
Police trooper. The incident is being investigated.