DECATUR - The last participant in a drug-related shootout that led to solving of the murder of DeKalb County Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated assault charges. <br>
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That wraps up the last loose end of the 20-month probe into and prosecution of Brown's assassination. <br>
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Twenty-six-year-old Dania Hewitt pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault. Hewitt was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the shooting that led to the death of purported drug dealer Jeffery ``Nigel'' George on March 18, 2001. Hewitt will be eligible for parole in 2009. <br>
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While authorities ultimately determined that the murders of George and Brown were unrelated, the incident gave prosecutors leverage against former DeKalb deputy Patrick Cuffy. <br>
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Cuffy admitted his role in Brown's murder and implicated three others, including former DeKalb sheriff Sidney Dorsey. <br>
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Cuffy was given immunity from prosecution in both the Brown and Hewitt slayings. He initially was charged with assaulting, kidnapping and killing George. He ultimately was sentenced to a year in jail for concealing evidence. He is scheduled for release in September. <br>
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The shootout took place in front of Cuffy's home after Dania Hewitt and his brother Carl Hewitt attacked George. George, who was severely beaten, was dragged from the scene by Carl Hewitt and an accomplice, German Montez. Carl Hewitt was convicted in February of murdering George. Montez pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault in the attack on George.
