Jason Aaron Murphy, 22, and Jared Brandon Murphy, 17, both of 8420 Bradley Road in Central, are being held in the county jail under no bond, said Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin. Central is about 12 miles from Titus in rural north Elmore County.

They are charged in the death of Ronnie Holman, 45, 1245 Providence Road, who was gunned down about 9:30 p.m. in his yard as he was investigating why the family dogs were barking.

Holman owned a construction company in Wetumpka. His wife, Kathy, was with him at home when the shooting took place but escaped unharmed.

Jared Brandon Murphy is a juvenile, but a capital murder charge automatically certifies the suspect as an adult, said District Attorney Randall Houston. Franklin declined to say if he has a confession in the case.

"We have to be careful what we say, because this is a capital case," Franklin said. "We feel our investigation has gathered the evidence to support the charge these men face. We feel they acted alone the night of the attack. We feel we have who is responsible for Ronnie Holman's death."

The brothers have been held in the county jail since July 30, after they were arrested on unrelated charges following a high speed chase. The two allegedly were involved in a purse snatching in Montgomery the night after Holman was killed. A chase through Elmore County ended near Lake Martin, after three patrol cars received more than $35,000 in damage. Deputies shot out two tires on a van during the pursuit.

" I talked to Jason Murphy right after we caught them and said 'Man, what are you doing, tearing up my patrol cars?'" Franklin said. "He just looked at me and said 'It's your job to catch me.'"

Courthouse records show Jason Murphy was released from the Elmore County jail on July 25, four days before Holman was killed. He had been arrested on June 3 for possession of drug paraphernalia, switched vehicle tags, attempting to elude a police officer, driving at an unsafe speed, obstruction of government operations, driving with a suspended license, running a stop sign and giving a false name to police officers, court records show. He was released after a payment plan for the fines was filed with the court.

Following the July 30 chase, Jason Murphy faced criminal mischief charges, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child since a small child was in the van during the chase. Authorities said they didn't know the child was in the van.

Attention focused on the brothers the afternoon following the murder, the sheriff said.

"Everything we found pointed to them," he said. "We told our night shift supervisors to be on the lookout for them, that we needed to talk to them. Then, danged if the chase didn't happen, and we found them then."

On Monday, authorities wouldn't comment about a motive in the slaying. But during the investigation, home invasion burglary was used as a possible reason for the attack.

"We feel that the Murphy boys had been using drugs, and they were looking for money," Franklin said. "Having a burglary attempt on an occupied home is just bizarre. Out of every 400 burglaries we work, we'll come across one of an occupied building."

News of the arrests was welcome in Titus, a small community about 10 miles north of Wetumpka near the Coosa County line.

"I feel so much better, I jumped every time the dog barked at night," said Mae Farmer. "I'll probably sleep better tonight than I've slept since this happened. This sounds corny to say, but nothing like this is supposed to happen here."

The suspects may be in jail, but the investigation continues. Houston urges anyone who may have information in the case, or knows of the Murphy brothers' actions around the time of the killing, to contact him or the sheriff's office.

The brothers first appearance in court hasn't been set. The case may go before the next session of the Elmore County Grand Jury, which is set to meet in three months.

Jason Murphy is a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty to assault March 13, 2001, and was sentenced to five years in prison, courthouse records show. He was sentenced on March 17, 2001, and released in September 2002, said Brian Corbett, spokesman of the Alabama Department of Corrections.

The assault case is similar to the murder charge. On March 4, 2000, Carlos King of Wetumpka noticed someone had come into his yard at night and rattled the front and back door of his mobile home. Court records show that King recognized Jason and Jared Murphy in his yard, after someone had thrown a rock through his window. King fired a shotgun in the air to scare off the intruders, then felt a stinging in his stomach, records said. At first King thought he had been hit by a rock, then he realized he had been shot, the records show.

Because of his age, any criminal record on Jared Murphy is sealed, preventing authorities from commenting.