SOMERSET, KENTUCKY - One apparently wanted to eliminate a powerful political rival. Another might have wanted a job. A third may have hoped his legal troubles would disappear. <br>
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Authorities said Wednesday that the three men accused in last week's sniper-style murder of Sheriff Sam Catron had different goals in mind before committing the crime. <br>
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``We believe it's all politically motivated,'' state police Detective Todd Dalton said. ``Each one of those persons had their own motivation for the murder.'' <br>
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Jeff Morris, 34, wanted Catron killed to improve his own chances in the Republican primary for sheriff and may have promised gunman Danny Shelley a job, Dalton said. <br>
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``It's not uncommon to be promised a job for something like that,'' Dalton said. <br>
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Shelley, 30, has pleaded innocent to murder. Morris and Kenneth White, 54, were arrested on charges of complicity to murder a police officer. White, who previously faced drug charges, wanted Morris to win the race so he'd have a sheriff who would look the other way, Dalton said. <br>
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Mark Stanziano, Shelley's attorney, said Dalton is speculating about something he doesn't know. <br>
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``That's the great thing about America. Everybody has an opinion,'' Stanziano said. ``But an opinion won't stand up in court.'' <br>
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It was unclear on Wednesday whether White and Morris had legal representation. <br>
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On Wednesday, thousands of people, including police officers and deputies from across the state, stood in line to walk past the open casket to pay respects to the slain lawman. <br>
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Michael Muse, a retired lieutenant from the Somerset Police Department, wiped tears as he left the building. He said he remembered Catron as a 12-year-old boy who hung around the police station to be near the action. <br>
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``He loved police work,'' Muse said. ``If Sam ever expected to die, he expected to die in uniform.'' <br>
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Catron, 48, was seeking re-election to a fifth term when he was shot Saturday after he finished a campaign speech at a fish fry and political rally in Shopville, a tiny community about 70 miles south of Lexington. <br>
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Witnesses saw a man fleeing the scene on a motorcycle, and Shelley was captured after wrecking the cycle, which was registered to Morris. <br>
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Jim McWhorter, the chief deputy sworn in as sheriff hours after the shooting, said Morris was a deputy under Catron from 1996 to July 2001. Morris resigned as a result of an ``internal matter'' that McWhorter has declined to explain. <br>
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White was arrested last year for possessing cocaine, a charge that was dismissed after he agreed to serve as an informant. Shelley's criminal record has a litany of traffic offenses, one arrest for alcohol intoxication and one for assault.
