Former sheriff found guilty of plotting successor's murder

Associated Press WriterALBANY, Ga. (AP) -- Former DeKalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey was convicted Wednesday of plotting the murder of his successor, who was gunned down in his driveway just days before taking office.

The jury deliberated for two and a half days before returning the verdict against Dorsey in the December 2000 slaying of Derwin Brown, who had beaten him in a bitter runoff election.

Dorsey was also found guilty on 11 of 14 other charges that accused him of presiding over widespread corruption in the suburban Atlanta sheriff's department -- a years-long pattern Brown had promised to clean up as sheriff.

Dorsey could get life in prison without parole, but his attorneys said they would appeal.

He stared at each juror as they verbally agreed to the verdict. Phyllis Brown, the slain man's widow, trembled as the verdict was read and relatives reached over to comfort her.

Prosecutors charged that Dorsey recruited the men who fatally shot Brown. They said he wanted Brown dead so he could retake the sheriff's post in a special election, although Dorsey eventually decided not to run.

The murder case was based chiefly on the testimony of two men, Patrick Cuffy and Paul Skyers, who said they helped carry out the slaying. Both men struck immunity deals with prosecutors.

Two other men, Melvin Walker and David Ramsey, were acquitted of murder charges in a separate trial.

Afterwards, family members congratulated DeKalb County District Attorney J. Thomas Morgan, who was criticized for failing to get a convictions of Walker and Ramsey.

"The Brown family has been tremendously supportive of us the entire time, even with the acquittal of the other defendants," Morgan said. "They never lost faith in us and their belief that justice would ultimately prevail. ... They stood by us and we're very grateful for that."

The defense declined to present a case on Dorsey's behalf, contending the state's argument was too weak to prove Dorsey was behind the murder plot -- a strategy that worked in the trial of Walker and Ramsey.

In the corruption phase of the trial, prosecutors said Dorsey accepted bribes, demanded sex from a female bonding agent, ordered deputies to work for his private security company at taxpayer expense and used deputies to run family errands.

Dorsey's cousin said the convictions would be overturned on appeal.

"We know it is not the final verdict," the Rev. Carl Dorsey said. "I'm not surprised so much as stunned, because the evidence that was presented by the prosecution, in our minds, was not sufficient to warrant a verdict of guilty on either charge, but the jury obviously saw it another way."

Dorsey was found innocent of two bribery charges and a charge that he forced employees to campaign for him on county time.

In the murder phase, jurors heard tearful testimony from Phyllis Brown, who recounted hearing what sounded like firecrackers, then walked outside to find her husband dead.

Brown was shot 11 times.

"When I walked out the door, I looked to my left on the ground and Derwin was lying there," Brown testified. "I knelt down, and when I looked in his eyes, I knew he was gone."

In a head-to-head race with Dorsey for the sheriff's post in 2000, Brown portrayed himself as a crusading reformer. He had promised to fire dozens of Dorsey employees upon taking office.

The trial was held in Albany, about 150 miles south of Atlanta, because of intense pretrial publicity.