US sheriff accused of shooting his rival for top job

A sheriff from the US state of Georgia was arrested yesterday for the murder of a political rival who was shot dead last year after winning a closely contested election for the post.

Derwin Brown was shot 11 times in front of his home last December in what authorities said amounted to an assassination. His death followed his victory over Sidney Dorsey in a bitterly fought contest for control of the sheriff's department, which had been rocked by scandal.

Yesterday, Mr Dorsey was charged with murder, as were two other men who were said to have been involved – the former deputy sheriff, Melvin Walker, and David Ramsey.

"This has been a long 11 months," said E J Moody, the police chief for DeKalb County, which contains part of the city of Atlanta. "It's been a long haul. It's been a long time getting here."

From the earliest stages of their investigation, authorities in DeKalb County, assisted by the FBI, had focused on a possible political connection in Mr Brown's murder. Before his killing, Mr Brown, 46, had pledged to clean up the sheriff's department and had informed 38 department employees that they would be fired.

Mr Dorsey, who repeatedly denied involvement in the shooting, also was under investigation for allegedly using on-duty deputies to work for his private security company and for letting county prison inmates work in a home-repair programme run by his wife.

In one television interview, Mr Dorsey said that those involved in the murder "should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law".

A break in the investigation apparently came earlier this week when a former sheriff's deputy, charged with a separate murder, agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors. The authorities said they believed there was a connection between the two crimes.