A man killed in a home invasion in Pike County on Dec. 16 has been identified as a suspect in two recent armed robberies in Ozark.

The Wiregrass Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force, in a joint effort with the Pike County Sheriff’s Department, believe Adrian Cornelius McClendon, 31, of Ozark, was responsible for the Dec. 8 robbery of the Stop and Go and the Dec. 13 robbery of an employee at Ann’s Restaurant in Ozark, according to Ozark Police Chief Tony Spivey.

“Our investigators have been communicating with the Ozark Police Department since the night of the shooting [Dec. 16],” said Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas. “We worked with them most all of last week on this case.”

Authorities were able to positively identify McClendon as the suspect in both robberies through the use of video technology and by interviewing family members.

McClendon was killed by return gunfire after he broke through the front door of a home in the Tarentum community on Highway 125 about 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 16 and opened fire, according to Thomas.

Terrence Terelle Casrell, 24, who lived in the home, was fatally struck by McClendon’s bullets.

Both men used .45-caliber handguns and were hit by gunfire twice. McLendon was found dead about 10 feet from the roadway where he collapsed and Casrell died in the home before first responders arrived.

Casrell’s family was home at the time of the shooting, but there were no other injuries.

The shooting is still under investigation by the Pike County Sheriff’s Department and there is no other information being released at this time. The Sheriff’s Department is working with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court District Attorney’s Office, coroner Jerry Williams and the Alabama Department of Forensic Science.