The Tennessee man convicted Tuesday of killing a Huntsville police officer has been sentenced to death by a Madison County jury said Friday.

The jury, responsible for determining the sentence for the capital murder convict, held the fate of LaJeromeny Brown in its hands. It was not immediately clear how the vote broke down but at least 10 jurors had to vote for the death penalty.

The verdict on the sentence came three days after the jury – at the end of its third full day of deliberations – found Brown guilty of capital murder in the shooting death of Huntsville police officer Billy Clardy III in 2019. The shooting occurred during an undercover drug operation in which Brown believed he was selling 100 pounds of marijuana to customers he didn’t realize were part of a drug task force.

A 2017 Alabama law gave full authority to juries to determine the sentences in capital murder conviction cases, ending a practice where the jury would make a recommendation to the judge – who would then have the final say.

The drug task force set up the operation at an abandoned north Huntsville house on Levert Street. Brown shot and killed Clardy – who moved in to take Brown into custody from a hidden position in the house. Brown immediately fled the scene and other task force officers captured him after a brief foot chase about a block from the house.

Brown contended during testimony that he did not realize Clardy was a police officer. Intent to kill a police officer is an element required for a capital murder conviction.

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