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Ex-deputy charged with making false statements

Brown was killed outside of his house, three days before he was to be sworn in as sheriff.

From CNN Investigative Correspondent Art Harris

DECATUR, Georgia (CNN) -- A former deputy sheriff is in custody on a charge of making a false statement in connection with the December ambush killing of a sheriff-elect in the Atlanta area, CNN has learned.

Melvin D. Walker, 36, who owns his own security firm and worked for defeated DeKalb County Sheriff Sidney Dorsey, was arrested by the special task force investigating the killing of Derwin Brown. He is expected to appear in court on the felony charge within two days, sources close to the case said.

Brown, 46, was shot down in the driveway of his home three days before his scheduled swearing-in as sheriff of one of the largest counties in metro Atlanta. He died just feet from the front door of his home while his wife and several children and friends were inside waiting for him.

The arrest warrant for Walker was one of two issued Tuesday in the case. Sources said the identity of the person named in the second warrant will not be made public and no arrest will be made until the case progresses further.

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One investigator said the case "is progressing well. We're very optimistic about the outcome." But no murder charges have been filed.

Several search warrants have been served in the case, including one to search the home of another former deputy who worked for Dorsey.

Sources say the false statement Walker is accused of making involved incidents surrounding the night of December 15, when Brown was gunned down. A 9-mm semi-automatic weapon was used to fire 17 rounds, of which 11 found their mark.

DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan has ordered a special grand jury to look into charges of corruption at the county jail during the time it was run by Dorsey.

Brown upset Dorsey in a runoff election. He ran on a reform platform, vowing to clean up the jail, and had notified more than four dozen jail employees to expect pink slips. He had pledged to authorize an outside audit of the jail's $50 million budget.

A second investigative grand jury is to be convened to look into Brown's murder.

Sources tell CNN that Walker worked closely with two other former deputies hired by Dorsey who police have questioned in recent weeks.

Grand jury probe ordered in killing of new sheriff
January 10, 2001
Authorities call murder of Georgia sheriff-elect a 'professional hit'
December 21, 2000
Sheriff-elect shot dead in front of Atlanta home
December 16, 2000

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