For Immediate Release:
August 24, 2026
For press inquiries only, contact:
Amanda Priest (334) 322-5694
William Califf (334) 604-3230
(Montgomery, Ala) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and death sentence of LaJeromeny Brown on August 21, 2026. Brown was convicted of the capital murder of Huntsville Police Department Agent Billy Clardy III in the Madison County Circuit Court and sentenced to death on January 12, 2024.
In 2019, Brown was ferrying large quantities of marijuana from Tennessee and selling it in Huntsville. A confidential informant contacted the Huntsville Police Department and told officers of Brown’s activities. After making an initial controlled buy from Brown in November 2019, agents of the North Alabama Drug Task Force arranged to purchase one hundred pounds of marijuana from Brown in December. They planned to meet Brown at a vacant house borrowed for the occasion, and the officers staged themselves in and around the location to apprehend him as quickly and safely as possible. But the timing was off at the last moment, and when the officers inside the house tried to grab Brown, he opened fire, mortally wounding Agent Clardy. While nearby officers tried to save Agent Clardy, others pursued Brown; one saw him throw a Glock pistol equipped with an aftermarket part that converts a semiautomatic pistol into a fully automatic weapon. Body-camera footage from several officers was introduced into evidence at trial, showing the shooting of Agent Clardy, the rush to save his life, and the pursuit and arrest of Brown.
Brown was convicted of the capital murder of an on-duty police officer on November 3, 2023. The jury voted for the death penalty, and the trial court sentenced Brown accordingly.
Attorney General Marshall commended Deputy Attorney General Lauren Simpson for her successful work on this case.
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