HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WDNews) — An Alabama law named for a fallen officer has helped investigators secure a second conviction, sending an Alabama man to prison for 30 years for cocaine trafficking.
Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Friday, Nov. 13, that investigators used the Agent Billy Clardy III Act to uncover a drug trafficking organization operating in Madison County.
Fabian Scott, 50, of Huntsville, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in cocaine, a Class A felony. Circuit Judge Chris M. Comer sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
The Alabama Legislature passed the act in 2023 after Clardy was killed in the line of duty in 2019 while investigating a large-scale drug trafficking operation.
The law authorizes Alabama law enforcement agencies to use advanced investigative techniques to uncover drug trafficking organizations.
In Scott’s case, the attorney general’s office worked with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Huntsville Police Department’s STAC Team to use those techniques, according to Marshall’s office.
“Today’s sentence for a career drug trafficker is a fitting tribute to Agent Billy Clardy III. Agent Clardy dedicated his life to combating the scourge of drugs in our community. 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. Agent Clardy’s death was not in vain,” Marshall said.
The attorney general’s Special Prosecutions Division prosecuted the case.
Marshall recognized Assistant Attorney General Verne H. Speirs and Special Agent Todd Mims for their work implementing and using the act across Alabama.
He also thanked ALEA, Huntsville’s STAC Team and the Madison County District Attorney’s Office for their work on the case.
