By CHRIS BUTLER

MUG SHOT LABELED MOORE

SEBRING — Lorida resident Kenneth Ray Moore promised Highlands County law enforcement officers he and his lawyer “would own the sheriff’s department” after his arrest last year.
But it was an empty promise.
Moore, 45, 341 Fairview Lane, won’t be making any claims on the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office anytime soon.
He was convicted last week on charges including driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, three counts of resisting an officer with violence and two counts of property damage.
He was sentenced to three years in the Florida State Prison, according to the Highlands County Clerk of Courts Office. 
The charges stem from a January 2006 incident in which arriving Highlands County Sheriff’s deputies said they found Moore’s vehicle crashed in a nearby pasture after striking a telephone pole and fence near U.S. 98 and the Pine Island Ranch. Deputies said Moore was under the influence of alcohol at the scene. 
Deputies reported later speaking with a witness to the crash when Moore became angry and began yelling obscenities at deputies before walking away. 
Moore continued walking away despite being told to stay where he was or he would be arrested, according to one deputy. 
Deputies reported Moore pushed one deputy “with a great force” causing him to lose his balance.
The same deputy said Moore later pushed his upper arm, prompting him and two other deputies to physically force Moore to the ground.
The report said Moore still resisted before being handcuffed and taken to the Highlands County Jail.
Moore told FHP officers visiting him at the jail later that night that he was “run off the road.”
It was an FHP officer who reported Moore’s threat to the sheriff’s department.