RETIRED PROSECUTOR TO RETRY MAN SUSPECTED IN TROOPER'S DEATH

SALLISAW (AP) -- A former assistant district attorney was appointed special
prosecutor on Tuesday for the retrial of a man suspected in the shooting of
an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper. Darrell Dowty, who retired in December
as first assistant district attorney for Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah and
Wagoner counties, will handle the state's case against Kenneth Eugene Barrett.

Barrett is charged with first-degree murder in the Sept. 24, 1999, slaying
of David "Rocky" Eales, 49, at Barrett's rural Sequoyah County cabin.

Jurors in October deadlocked 11-1 in deliberations, prompting a mistrial.
One juror believed that Barrett acted in self-defense against an OHP
tactical team that was trying to serve a warrant to search for
methamphetamine at his home.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Barrett, who also faces a
count of shooting with intent to kill and two counts of discharging a
firearm with an intent to kill for shots fired at three other troopers.

The state Attorney General's Office and the Department of Public Safety
will fund the prosecution, which could cost about $20,000, Sequoyah County
District Attorney Richard Gray said.

Eales' relatives and members of the OHP had wanted Dowty to retry Barrett,
but Gray had said his office couldn't afford bringing in an outside prosecutor.

Eales family, friends and co-workers approached Gray with the idea of
finding special funding for the prosecution about six weeks ago, he said.

"It takes a big burden off us, and the family is more comfortable with
this," said Gray, who took office in January. "It's a great situation."