Page 5 - Derwin Brown News Today

>> he was -- could not get into his driveway because there were some cars there. he parked on the road. he was walking to the door with the roses in his hand. >> initially, i heard what i thought were fire crackers. because it just went pop, pop. but by the time it popped again, i realized it was gunshots. and i have to say that for once in my life, i remembered everything derwin ever told me to do. i told everybody to get down and get out of the room. pick up the phone, call 911, tell them shot...

Shootout in his suburban atlanta front yard. cuffy had be ex-sheriff dorseys right-hand man and worked in dorseys private security firm and he was one of the deputies that derwin brown planned to fire. police had been watching cuffy for months. >> cuffy was, himself, kind of like a mini cult leader within the sheriffs office. when the police were able to fixate on cuffy, that led to them being able to see if they could solve the derwin brown assassination by making cuffy uncomfortable. >> the bo...

Were parked in my driveway, i saw two bags. i fully expected to find derwin crouched down either between the two cars or crouched down between the first car and the door. >> so she said, i got to go. and -- so she went out. and i came out behind her. and as soon as we stepped out the door, derwin was laying right there to the left of the door. >> i knelt down to derwin and i told him, just hold on. you know, just hold on. and that was when i really recognized that he was bleeding from both sides...

Really feel very strongly about. he said, the people of our county deserve the best that they can get. as opposed to corruption. >> it goes back probably 30 years. weve had a long history of prosecuting sheriffs who have ended up in jail. >> jay tom morgan was the county district attorney at the time. >> i think the problem is under our law in georgia is that the sheriff has unbridled authority. the sheriff has a $50 million budget that he or she is exclusively in charge of. >> the county has a ...

I know that he was always a leader. >> he came to atlanta in 1977. there, he and his future wife, phyllis, were set up on a blind date. >> when i went to pick him up, he came around the corner. and he was the most gorgeous man that i had ever in my life seen. >> over 23 years, they would raise five children, including brandy, their only daughter. >> i felt like nothing could ever happen to him. he was my superhero. what he said, that was word. you know what im saying? you know, i guess a lot of ...

Finish the celebration. were kind of a partying family. it was my moms birthday. i was like, im so proud of you. i told him, i said, im tired. i will just see you in the morning at breakfast and well continue. im thinking of going back to the house. he said, okay, thats fine. im going to sit here a while longer. he was talking to someone. and im headed on home. >> at about 11:00 p.m., brown drove home alone. he parked at the curb. phyllis was inside watching tv with robert crowder and her son, m...

Administration now needs to be interviewed and accounted for for their activities that evening. >> two grand juries were impanelled. one who investigated the charges of corruption in the former sheriffs office. the other, the murder of derwin brown. >> i cant speak to whats going on in the prosecutors head or primarily what his motives are. my statement to you is that i am not guilty of any form of corruption and i had absolutely nothing to do with the murder of derwin brown. >> nine months afte...

The sheriffs race and with promising promotions to four of his deputies in return for the killing. >> did you do it? did you do it? >> innocent. innocent. >> two of those deputies, melvin walker and david ramsey, were also arrested. unable to crack the case for nearly a year, prosecutors agreed not to charge the other two admitted co-conspirators, patrick cuffy and paul skyers, with any crime related to browns murder in return for their agreement to tell the whole story. >> we needed their testi...

Dorseys private security firm and he was one of the deputies that derwin brown planned to fire. police had been watching cuffy for months. >> cuffy was, himself, kind of like a mini cult leader within the sheriffs office. when the police were able to fixate on cuffy, that led to them being able to see if they could solve the derwin brown assassination by making cuffy uncomfortable. >> the bond between cuffy and dorsey was very, very, very strong. cuffy describes it as a father/son relationship a...

>> dorsey was convicted of 12 of 15 counts of murder, racketeering, violation of the oath of office and eight counts of theft. >> as to count three, guilty. as to count four, not guilty. as to count five, not guilty. as to count six, guilty. >> phyllis and robert brown collapsed in an embrace. >> count eight, guilty. as to count nine, guilty. >> we were able to show that he was using the sheriffs department as an organized crime, if you will, and that by assassinating derwin brown, he was attemp...