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Chief Deputy Shot, Killed In Own Home By Suicidal Felon

Greene County Chief Deputy Kevin Roberts was shot and killed on Sunday. [Greene County Sheriff's Office]

GREENE COUNTY, GA – A convicted felon shot and killed the Greene County chief deputy Sunday morning before turning the gun on himself, Sheriff Chris Houston said.

Kevin Roberts, 48, answered the door of his Siloam home around 8:30 and was shot, Houston said. The suspect, identified as 37-year-old Sherman Ash Branch, then shot himself in the murder-suicide, Houston said.

Investigators believe Branch may have targeted the deputy because of a sheriff’s office investigation, Houston said. But Roberts was not involved in the investigation involving Branch, he said.

“He was my best friend,” Houston said Sunday afternoon of Roberts, a married father of two.

Branch was twice convicted of cocaine possession and once for obstructing an officer, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. He served two sentences in state prison.

GBI agents are at the scene assisting the Greene County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation, GBI spokesman John Bankhead told the AJC.

Morgan, Taliaferro, Putnam, Oconee and other agencies also are helping.

Roberts had been the chief deputy since 1999. He previously worked as a police officer in Union Point and Greensboro.

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