From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
HUNTSVILLE — Over a thousand dollars was stolen from a memorial fund set up for fallen Huntsville police officer Billy Clardy III.
About $1,700 was taken from the fund in three transactions, Huntsville Police Department Lt. Tony McElyea told WHNT on Friday. The account has since been frozen, and the Huntsville Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit is investigating the thefts.
Clardy was a police officer for the Huntsville Police Department working as a drug agent as part of the HIDTA Gulf Coast Task Force.
His death followed a drug investigation where in which agents set up a drug buy with a known offender who was to drop off a large amount of drugs at a residence on Levert Street, according to a statement released by police. Upon arrival at the residence, Clardy was immediately shot by the offender on the porch. A short foot pursuit followed with other officers who were on a perimeter. The suspect, LaJeromeny Latez Brown, was eventually captured. Brown currently faces a capital murder charge.
Police said Clardy died as a result of gun shot wounds he suffered outside the scope of his bullet proof vest.
Agent Clardy is survived by his wife and five children. His father, Officer Billy Fred Clardy Jr., was also killed in the line of duty with the Huntsville Police Department on May 3, 1978.