Two More Charged in Perry County Murder of Ryan Huff
A witness told investigators Danny "Blue" Asher said he had "just killed someone" after Ryan Huff, 27, was shot dead at Bubby Combs Apartments in Darfork.
Three people now face charges in the March 3 shooting death of Jason Ryan Huff at the Bubby Combs apartment complex on Darfork Road, with murder warrants obtained against two Hazard residents on March 6 bringing the total number of defendants to three.
Brian Smith, 49, of Locust Street in Hazard, was charged with murder in connection with Huff's death. Maranda "Kat" Connor, 37, also of Hazard, was charged with hindering apprehension. Both had already been sitting in the Leslie County Detention Center when the Perry County warrants were issued, having been arrested there Thursday night on unrelated charges. Leslie County booking records show Smith was taken in on counts of third-degree assault of a police officer, resisting arrest, and drug possession. Connor was subsequently transferred to the Kentucky River Regional Detention Center in Hazard.
The first arrest in the case came two days after the killing. Danny Harold "Blue" Asher, of Hull School Road, was taken into custody on March 4 after the Leslie County Sheriff's Office responded to a call about a suspicious person. He was charged with murder. Sources report his age as either 42 or 43.
Perry County Sheriff's Capt. Paul Campbell, the department's lead detective, wrote the warrant laying out what investigators had found. Deputies had originally responded to a shots-fired complaint shortly before 10 a.m. on March 3, arriving at the Bubby Combs Apartments parking lot to find Huff on the ground with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was 27 years old.
Video-recorded interviews conducted by detectives produced critical witness accounts. One witness told investigators that three people had confronted Huff just prior to the shooting. A separate witness told investigators that Asher had stated after the incident that he had "just killed someone."
The Perry County Sheriff's Office has said additional arrests and charges remain possible as the investigation continues. A funeral for Huff was scheduled for Saturday evening.
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