SOMERSET, Ky. — Jeff Morris, a political opponent of slain Pulaski County Sheriff Sam Catron, was jailed Monday and charged with complicity to murder, jail authorities said.

        Mr. Morris, 34, along with Kenneth White, 54, were booked into the Pulaski County jail Monday afternoon in connection with the sniper slaying. Mr. White was also charged with complicity to murder.

BUTLER SHERIFF 'LOST GREAT FRIEND'

HAMILTON — Butler County Sheriff Harold Don Gabbard said Pulaski County, Ky., Sheriff Sam Catron was a partner in crime-fighting — and seemed like family.     “We lost a great friend, and I think Pulaski County lost a great sheriff — one who really, really did care,” Sheriff Gabbard said Monday, as he and other Butler officers made plans to attend services for the sheriff. “I think he was the most honest, dedicated sheriff I have ever known — and I don't know if Pulaski County will ever be able to replace him.”     A bullet from a rifle killed the 48-year-old Sheriff Catron shortly after he finished a campaign speech at a fish fry and political rally Saturday at a volunteer fire department in Shopville, a tiny community. Three people have been jailed in his shooting.     At the request of Sheriff Catron's mother, the Butler sheriff's caisson will be used in the funeral procession. Several Butler deputies are arranging to take time off to attend calling hours and/or services later this week, the sheriff said.     Sheriff Gabbard said he and several deputies took weekend fishing and hunting trips with Sheriff Catron. They joked and called him “their bestest buddy.”     “I don't feel that I could feel any more about a brother than I did him. We all just loved him,” the sheriff said.     Sheriff Catron was dedicated to his job, Sheriff Gabbard said.    By Janice Morse, jmorse@enquirer.com

        Sheriff Catron was well-known as an enemy of drug traffickers, flying a helicopter to search for marijuana plants and filling courtrooms with offenders his department had nabbed.

        A bullet from a rifle killed the 48-year-old Sheriff Catron shortly after he finished a campaign speech at a fish fry and political rally Saturday at a volunteer fire department in Shopville, a tiny community about 70 miles south of Lexington.

        Sheriff Catron was running for a fifth term as sheriff.

        The arrests followed the arraignment Monday morning of Danny Shelley, 30, of Eubank, who was apprehended after wrecking a motorcycle registered to Mr. Morris, who would have faced Sheriff Catron in the May 28 open primary. An attorney representing Mr. Shelley entered an innocent plea.

        Jim McWhorter, the chief deputy sworn in as sheriff, said Mr. Morris was a deputy under Sheriff Catron from 1996 to July 2001.

        Sheriff Catron had been the sheriff of the sparsely populated south-central Kentucky county since 1985.

        Sheriff Catron was shot as as he was leaving the political event about 7:15 p.m. EDT. Pulaski County Coroner Alan Stringer said the bullet hit Sheriff Catron in the head and killed him instantly.

        Pulaski County Attorney Bill Thompson, a witness to the shooting, said he was about 20 feet from the sheriff when the shot was fired. He said he saw the suspect flee on the motorcycle. Mr. Thompson, the district court prosecutor, played no role in an arraignment procedure Monday because he said he is a potential witness in the court case.

        Mr. Shelley was brought to the Pulaski County Courthouse under heavy security Monday for the arraignment. Wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, shackles and bullet-proof vest, Mr. Shelley didn't come into the courtroom.

        “We're trying to keep the pretrial publicity down or at least minimize the harm of the pretrial publicity,” said Mark Stanziano, an attorney representing Mr. Shelley.

        Sheriff Catron was wearing a bullet-proof vest because his father, then-Somerset Police Chief Harold Catron, had been shot April 10, 1957. Three men in a sedan pulled up in front of his home in Somerset and opened fire with a shotgun, injuring Harold Catron and another of his sons, Lewis Catron, 11 years old at the time.

        Harold L. Catron Sr. died on Sept. 16, 1964. Eighty-eight pellets were lodged into Mr. Catron's body during the 1957 shooting, said Jacinta Manning, a spokeswoman for the Department of Criminal Justice in Richmond. One pellet was lodged near his heart and could not be removed. In 1964, that pellet shifted, causing a heart attack, Manning said.

        Commonwealth's Attorney Eddy Montgomery said he may seek the death penalty in the case. Pulaski County District Judge Michael Henry scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 25 to determine whether police have enough evidence to send the case on to a grand jury.

        Funeral services for Sheriff Catron are set for Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Center for Rural Development in Somerset. Public visitation is scheduled for Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Thursday from 8 a.m. until the funeral.

        The Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives each passed resolutions Monday honoring Sheriff Catron. The resolutions said Sheriff Catron was “exceptionally dedicated to law enforcement” and said his shooting was an “act of cowardice.”

2 police officers under scrutiny in alleged kidnap
Officers' records reveal past troubles, suspensions
Cardinals will discuss sex abuse scandal with pope
Drug shortages try patients' patience
Heart-care workers offered big bonuses
Prime parking spaces at airport to reopen
Amusement park to reopen in May
Boycott: Episcopal gathering is canceled
Taxpayers scramble to meet deadline
Teen-agers accused of death plot
Two people slain in separate incidents
PULFER: Cleaning guy's floors shine, pecs bulge
Some Good News
School accused of misspending
Schools get $2.2 million for program redesign
UC hires surgical unit head
Welfare regulations criticized
Worker sues over return to City Hall
2 accused in sheriff's death
China condemns Cincinnati police shooting
Cleveland suburb sets gay rights trend
Council divided over arts subsidy
Ethics committee warns Traficant not to vote
Fairfield teacher suspended over content of his e-mails
False-reports trial begins
Judge ends racial busing in Dayton
Man indicted in Ritalin theft
Tristate A.M. Report
Boone expects to begin law enforcement building
Covington brings in heavy equipment to raze tents
Patton plans budget session
Kentucky news briefs