Drug Trafficker 1st Convicted Under Act Named after Slain Ala. Police Officer
By Heather Gann
Source al.com
What to know
- A 45-year-old convicted drug trafficker was sentenced to life for cocaine trafficking under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act, following four prior felony drug convictions.
- The conviction was secured using the Agent Billy Clardy III Act, which enabled wiretaps and enhanced investigative techniques to dismantle the suspect's drug trafficking network.
- The investigation uncovered firearms and criminal ties across the Southeast, and additional convictions are expected.
Attorney General Steve Marshall announced today the conviction and life sentence of Reginald Eugene Scott, 45, of Huntsville, for trafficking in cocaine.
To secure this life sentence, the attorney general’s office, in conjunction with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Huntsville Police Department, for the first time employed the Agent Billy Clardy III Act to use “enhanced investigative techniques” to uncover Scott’s drug trafficking organization operating in Madison County, according to a release from Marshall’s office.
Passed by the Alabama legislature in 2023 in honor of fallen Huntsville police officer Billy Clardy III, this act created a wiretapping program for state and local law enforcement to secretly monitor and record people suspected of felony drug crimes, according to its text.
“Today’s life sentence for a drug trafficker is a fitting tribute to Agent Billy Clardy III,” Marshall wrote in the release.
“Agent Clardy dedicated his life to combating the scourge of drugs in our community.”
What's Alabama's Agent Billy Clady III Act
The beginning of the act's synopsis reads: "This bill would authorize the Attorney General to submit an application to a circuit court judge to submit an application to a circuit court judge to intercept any wire or electronic communication if there is probable cause to believe an individual is committing, has committed, or is about to commit certain felony drug offenses.
Go to the Alabama Legislature's site to read more about the act.
Scott was a leader and organizer of a wide-ranging drug trafficking organization with ties to criminal elements throughout the southeast, Marshall’s office said.
And over the course of the investigation, law enforcement recovered numerous firearms related to drug trafficking.
Scott pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking incocaine, a Class A felony, and received a life sentence under Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act – having been convicted of four prior felony drug offenses.
In Dec. 2019, Clardy was shot and killed by LaJeromeny Brown during an undercover drug operation in north Huntsville, as AL.com previously reported.
As a result of his death, the Alabama Legislature passed the Agent Billy Clardy III Act in 2023.
“The legislation honoring his name will forever assist law enforcement in rooting out those who would poison our communities while adding safety and security to our officers,” Marshall wrote.
“Agent Clardy’s death was not in vain.”
Marshall reiterated in the release that this case is ongoing, and he expects more convictions to come.
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