Samuel Wilson Catron, 48, was fatally shot on the evening of April 13, 2002, outside a political rally and fish fry at the Shopville Volunteer Fire Department in Pulaski County, Kentucky. Catron had just finished giving a re-election speech and was placing two cakes he had purchased at the fundraiser into his patrol car around 7:15 p.m. when a single shot from a high-powered rifle struck him in the head. The shooting occurred in front of numerous witnesses.

The shooter fled on a motorcycle but was captured a few miles away by a deputy and a firefighter. Investigators identified the triggerman as Danny Shelley, then 30, and arrested two others in connection with the killing: Jeff Morris, then 34 and a former deputy who was running against Catron in the upcoming sheriff’s election, and Kenneth White, then 54, who was involved in Morris’s campaign. Authorities described the motive as political, alleging Morris and White conspired to eliminate Catron so Morris could win, and said the motorcycle used in the escape was registered to Morris.

All three men were charged with capital murder and later convicted. Shelley and Morris received life sentences; White was also given life and later died in prison in 2018. Catron had served as Pulaski County Sheriff since 1986.