Bail set for teen charged in deputy’s death

A judge on Wednesday set bail for the youngest of three men charged with capital murder in the death of a Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy after earlier denying bail for his two co-defendants.

The 17-year-old defendant, Fredrick Tardy, was ordered held on a $750,000 bail. Police have linked him and two others to the March 31 catalytic converter theft that left Deputy Darren Almendarez dead in a grocery store parking lot.

Almendarez was fatally shot while confronting Tardy and two others, Fredarius Clark and Joshua Stewart, as they tried stealing the catalytic converter from his pickup truck, authorities have said.

At a hearing Tuesday, prosecutors shared evidence from the shooting and an earlier catalytic converter theft to show why Clark and Stewart, who face the death penalty in the deputy’s death, should be held without bail .

Judge Robert Johnson in the 177th District Court found that proof exists to keep the duo jailed without bail. Tardy, who is not eligible for the death penalty because he was 17 at the time of the offense, was expected to receive bail.

Tardy’s lawyer, Alvin Nunnery, asked Johnson for a $250,000 bail, citing that his client is “clearly indigent.” At the time of his arrest, he had $300 in his bank account and earning $500 a month through Social Security, Nunnery said.

Prosecutors, however, requested that bail be set at $3 million.

“I think that is obscene,” Nunnery said.

The judge decided on the $750,000 amount.

Almendarez’s sister, Cynthia Almendarez, shared her thoughts on the bail amount while leaving the courtroom.

“It could have been more, but we’re happy with the results,” she said.

One of the prosecutors, Michael Simons, told the judge that Tardy may have been linked to a September 2021 incident where he was believed to have fled an arrest, while handcuffed. That individual also dropped a handgun.

Police recently reviewed body-cam footage of that incident and believe the man who fled was Tardy, Simons said.

“We have evidence ... that Tardy has a documented history of possessing guns,” the prosecutor said. “He should be held at a high bond.”

Should Tardy make bail — the judge prohibited him from having contact with Almendarez’s family, the other defendants in the case or the three men who were in the car with him at the time of his arrest. He will also be ordered to wear an ankle monitor and be confined to his home except for court appearances and meetings with his attorney.