By: Jerry Burke
But only four months later, in July of 2002, Dorsey himself was found guilty of masterminding the plot. Now federal authorities have brought the alleged gunmen, Walker, 39, and Ramsey, 32, back into court. They will be charged for violating a federal murder-for-hire law and could face the death penalty if found guilty. But unlike their state trial, the Tec-9 semi-automatic machine gun used to kill Brown won't be the focus of the federal case. Rather, it will be the suspect's cell phones.
According to the federal indictment unsealed last Wednesday in Atlanta, Walker and Ramsey are charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire using "instrumentalities of and facilities in interstate commerce." Georgia U.S. Attorney William Duffey said that because the pair made seven cell phone calls concerning the slaying over an interstate communication network, the federal government has an opening to claim jurisdiction. The charge, says Duffey, does not violate the defendants' Fifth Amendment right protecting them from double jeopardy.
Brown was shot 11 times in the driveway of his home on December 15, 2000, as he and his wife were returning from a party in their honor. He was to be sworn in as sheriff three days later.
For several months before his death, Brown had expressed concern for his own safety to some of his closest friends. He believed that men from Dorsey's office were following him. Brown had won the election on a platform of routing out corruption within the sheriff's office. One of his first actions as sheriff was to terminate 38 employees from Dorsey's office, including Walker, a former sheriff's deputy, and Ramsey, an employee in the sheriff's office.
Dorsey's defense team did not present witnesses at his trial because they believed that the acquittals of Walker and Ramsey spoke loud enough for their client. It turned out to be a miscalculation, as the jury found Dorsey guilty of murder as well as 11 of 14 other accusations of corruption during his time with the sheriff's department.
Former sheriff's office employees Patrick Cuffy and Paul Skyers testified in both cases, and were the strongest witnesses for the prosecution. Both struck immunity deals with prosecutors in exchange for their testimony, admitting that they had helped carry out the murder under Dorsey's direction. Both said the four men in question staked out Brown's home for weeks before choosing the right moment to kill him.
Their deals, said jurors in the Walker-Ramsey trial, pushed the jury away from believing their testimony. After only four hours of deliberation, jurors returned to the Decatur courtroom with their not guilty verdict.
Jurors in Dorsey's trial, however, saw the testimony quite differently. They believed the state's accusation that Dorsey recruited the men who carried out the murder, his plan being to once again seize control of the sheriff's job in another election after Brown's death.
Walker and Ramsey, neither of whom testified at their own trial, maintained their innocence after the trial and walked out of the courthouse smiling. Walker was arrested again at his Atlanta home last week, while Ramsey was taken into custody in his native U.S. Virgin Islands.
Brown graduated from Malverne High School in 1972, and then attended C.W. Post, where he studied criminal justice and sociology.
When he moved to Georgia, Brown began pursuing a master's degree in social work, according to his brother Ron. He soon left school to work full-time in the sheriff's office. However, Brown grew increasingly disillusioned by the corruption he witnessed in DeKalb County. For more than 30 years, every DeKalb sheriff had been charged or suspected of a crime ranging from mail fraud to manslaughter.
Brown's friend Harry Ross said that it was his outrage over this situation and his strong belief in the criminal justice system that drove him to run for sheriff.
"We're all happy, and hopefully things will get rolling and justice will be served," said Brandy Rhodes, Brown's daughter. "It's kind of like we have to relive it all over again, but it's for a positive reason."
Newly appointed DeKalb District Attorney Jeffrey Brickman, who took office Tuesday, will now prosecute Ramsey and Walker. "I'm confident that [federal investigators] have a solid case," said Brickman.
"This, hopefully, will be the final chapter in what has been a long, sordid tale in DeKalb County," said former DA Morgan, who recently retired. "It may correct what was a travesty of justice with the acquittal of men responsible for Derwin Brown's murder."
