Alabama homicide suspect creates tense moments for Marion County deputies

Photo courtesy of the Scottsboro, Ala., Police Department of homicide suspect Terrance Austin being returned to Alabama after being extradited from Marion County, Tenn.
Photo courtesy of the Scottsboro, Ala., Police Department of homicide suspect Terrance Austin being returned to Alabama after being extradited from Marion County, Tenn.
photo Photo courtesy of the Scottsboro, Ala., Police Department of homicide suspect Terrance Austin being returned to Alabama after being extradited from Marion County, Tenn.
photo Mugshot of Warren Hardy from the Marion County (Tenn.) Jail

There were tense moments in Whitwell, Tenn., Sunday but no one was hurt when an Alabama man sought in the slaying of a 72-year-old Huntsville, Ala., woman brandished a weapon as Marion County deputies tried to get him to surrender.

Sheriff Ronnie "Bo" Burnett said Monday 27-year-old Warren Hardy of Huntsville is being held on a fugitive-from-justice warrant related to accusations in Alabama that he shot and killed Kathleen Lundy, a resident of a gated community in West Huntsville, on Friday.

Burnett said the shooting apparently began with a domestic violence situation in Alabama that led Hardy to Tennessee later.

Marion County deputies acting on information released out of Huntsville to be on the lookout for Hardy answered a call at a church in Powells Crossroads about a man looking into cars in the parking lot, Burnett said. Deputies arrived but the man was gone.

"About 10 minutes later, he was spotted on Highway 28 by a Jasper officer coming south and he attempted to turn around and fled and other officers got involved in the chase," Burnett said.

The chase continued toward Kimball, where the man later identified as Hardy lost control of his vehicle and crashed after he turned onto Cooley Lane, the sheriff said. Hardy then tried to flee from the crash.

"Officers from Jasper and Kimball and my guys caught up with him about 50 or 60 yards away and he was armed with a handgun," Burnett said. "A couple of times he actually pointed the gun at my officers and some of the other officers, but at some point he threw the gun down and gave up."

Burnett said officers on the scene said they thought Hardy lost the magazine from the .45-caliber handgun he was carrying when he crashed the car in Kimball. The magazine was found inside the vehicle, the sheriff said.

"It could've really been bad," Burnett said. "All the officers showed good restraint and didn't use deadly force."

Huntsville police at press time Monday had not released details of the shooting incident, and Hardy had not said whether he planned to resist extradition, Burnett said. He is charged in Marion County with theft, reckless endangerment, unlawful possession of a weapon and evading arrest.

Hardy is the second of two Alabama men sought in homicides who were taken into custody in Marion County in the last two months.

Last month, 28-year-old Hollywood, Ala., resident Terrance Austin was captured in Jasper after officers allegedly found him intoxicated and saying he "needed to die." Over the succeeding few days, Jasper and Scottsboro police tied a car Austin reportedly admitted to setting ablaze to 88-year-old Ruby Durham, who was found dead July 22.

Scottsboro authorities said Austin was extradited across the state line to Jackson County last Wednesday to face a murder charge in Durham's death in Scottsboro, according to a statement released Friday. Austin had been held since July 21, a day before Durham's body was found.

Austin remains at the Jackson County Jail on a $1 million bond.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton @timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.

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