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American Morning

Former County Sheriff Accused of Plotting to Ambush Man Who Beat Him in Last Election

Aired December 19, 2001 - 08:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We are following another major case this morning, this one near Atlanta, in a story that sounds more like a tale from the Wild West. A former county sheriff is accused of plotting to ambush the man who beat him in the last election, and a judge has ruled there is enough evidence to send the case to a grand jury.

Brian Cabell has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The star witness for the prosecution is Patrick Cuffy, a former deputy sheriff who admits he recruited three others to take part in the killing, but says it was his former friend and boss, defeated Sheriff Sidney Dorsey, who asked him to carry out the murder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK CUFFY: I am not here to have him locked up. I'm not here to keep him in jail. That's not what I'm here for. I am here to tell the story exactly as it happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABELL: And the story, according to Cuffy, was this: Dorsey, the incumbent sheriff, lost a hard fought election in 2000 to Derwin Brown, who campaigned against corruption and promised reform. Dorsey, intent on revenge, wanted Brown dead, Cuffy said. So Cuffy and three others, Paul Skyers, David Ramsey and Melvin Walker, stalked Brown for several weeks. Cuffy said they drew straws, and Walker drew the short one, and he gunned down Brown on his driveway.

In return for their testimony, both Cuffy and Skyers were granted immunity. The prosecution offers no apologies for letting the two confessed murderers go unpunished.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM CLEGG, DEKALB COUNTY ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Quite frankly, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) explanation is we have the most notorious homicide in the history of this county having been committed, and the only way we are ultimately ever going to get to the truth is to get the cooperation of some of the principals involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABELL: Dorsey and his attorneys insist he's been framed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN STEEL, DORSEY'S ATTORNEY: There is nothing here, except the word of Patrick Cuffy, that implicates Sidney Dorsey in this horrific homicide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABELL: Prosecutors concede they have no physical evidence tying Dorsey to the crime. They have to hope a jury will buy the credibility of Patrick Cuffy, who admits he's thought about collecting the reward money for helping to solve the murder, a murder he took part in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUFFY: Well, Counselor, quite frankly, if they offered it to me, I would certainly accept it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABELL: Brian Cabell, CNN, Decatur, Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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