Posted on 11/13/2003 5:54:31 AM PST by briarjumper
White convicted in sheriff's slaying
Death sentence to be sought for drug dealer
By Bill Estep
SOUTH-CENTRAL KENTUCKY BUREAU
SOMERSET - A drug dealer looking to install an ally as the county's top cop helped plan the stunning assassination of Pulaski County Sheriff Sam Catron, a jury ruled yesterday.
Today, the prosecutor will seek a death sentence for Kenneth White.
After four days of testimony, the jury of eight women and four men deliberated less than an hour yesterday before convicting White, 56, of complicity to murder Catron.
Lewis Catron, brother of the slain sheriff, pumped an emphatic thumbs-up. During a court recess shortly after, friends and supporters crowded around Catron; his mother, Jennie Rachel, 87; and his sister Nancy, hugging them and patting them on the back as tears flowed.
The slain sheriff's family had attended every court hearing since the April 13, 2002 murder. It was a relief to get a guilty verdict against the man who was the driving force behind the murder, they said.
"I felt like a ton came off my shoulders," Lewis Catron said. He added, though, "Nothing will bring my brother back."
Nancy Catron-Hruneni said family members steeled themselves to sit through graphic testimony because they wanted to know and understand as much as possible about her brother's murder.
"It helps. It definitely helps," she said of the verdict.
White's attorney, David Hoskins of Corbin, said White was surprised and disappointed by the verdict and continued to maintain his innocence.
Commonwealth's Attorney Eddy Montgomery said he was pleased with the verdict. During a hearing that continues today, he will ask jurors to sentence White to death.
Jeff Morris and Danny Shelley also were charged in Catron's killing, and they pleaded guilty earlier this year. Morris, 36, a former deputy under Catron, was running against him in the May 2002 Republican primary. White and Shelley, 32, were helping him.
The case showed the power of drugs and drug money to corrupt. Although White had a history of arrests and was dealing drugs, he helped run Morris' campaign and spent thousands of dollars in the election. Morris said White backed him because he wanted a sheriff who would protect his drug dealing and bootlegging.
White took the witness stand yesterday to dispute testimony from Shelley and Morris that he came up with the idea to kill Catron. White admitted he dealt drugs off and on more than 20 years, but said he had nothing to do with Catron's death.
Jurors rejected his testimony in short order.
Janice Surber, an alternate juror released after testimony, said a key piece of evidence in convincing her that White was guilty was a tape of telephone calls the evening Catron was killed.
Ironically, White gave police the tape in an apparent attempt to show he was not involved in the murder.
In the calls, White said he knew nothing about the crime. He and Morris made references to Shelley having Morris' motorcycle -- the getaway vehicle -- because he was thinking of buying it.
Montgomery said that was a ham-handed attempt to create an alibi, and Surber agreed that was obvious.
Morris had testified that White came up with the idea to kill Catron. Shelley testified that White supplied his drug addiction, and that White and Morris duped him into killing Catron by telling him the sheriff planned to arrest or kill the three of them.
Shelley, a former Marine, hid on a wooded hillside and shot Catron as he left a rural fire station where he had attended a community fish fry. With no wife or children, Catron, 48, was essentially married to his job and was known as one of the hardest-working officers in the state.
Shelley fled on Morris' motorcycle but got caught within minutes after he wrecked, and he and Morris quickly confessed. Both are serving life without parole for at least 25 years.
Hoskins argued to the jury that Morris and Shelley planned Catron's murder, then concocted lies against White to save their own skins.
Hoskins said Morris might have been motivated by revenge because Catron had forced him out of his job as a deputy over allegations that he had lied. Morris might also have feared that Catron planned to arrest him on the eve of the election over suspicions that he had stolen a wallet out of the evidence safe, Hoskins said.
As for Shelley, he was a major drug dealer who had the experience to organize the scheme and motive to carry it out so he could be top dog in the local drug trade, Hoskins said.
Montgomery, however, told jurors that Shelley was a killer but not a liar. And other witnesses corroborated details from Shelley and Morris.
Montgomery also pointed out that Morris and Shelley admitted being involved in the crime before any deal to spare them a death sentence. Information from insiders is necessary to prove a conspiracy, the prosecutor said, and White was the moneyman and main mover in the scheme.
To believe White, he said, jurors would have to accept that several other witnesses were lying.
White is a drug dealer who manipulates others, Montgomery said. And, he said, "he's a coldblooded murderer."
After the verdict, Montgomery started presenting evidence of "aggravating circumstances" that would make the case eligible for the death penalty.
Montgomery has cited four such circumstances: Catron was a sheriff murdered while performing his duty, he was a public official, the murder created a risk of death to more than one person, and the crime was committed for financial gain -- White's desire to deal drugs.
Hoskins will argue against a death sentence, in part because of White's relatively low IQ. There is also no evidence White was more culpable than the others, so he shouldn't get a death sentence when the triggerman didn't, he said.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.