ST. LOUIS — One of Bella Fontaine Park's shelters will get a new name Thursday in honor of a St. Louis County Police detective who died in the line of duty.
Dec. 1 marks the one-year anniversary of Detective Antonio Valentine's death. According to the St. Louis County Police Department, Valentine was fatally injured in a vehicle crash while working with the Bureau of Drug Enforcement in north St. Louis County.
The Bella Fontaine Park Shelter, located at 9565 Bellefontaine Road in Bellefontaine Neighbors, will be renamed the Detective Antonio Valentine Memorial Shelter at 10 a.m. Thursday during a ceremony.
Valentine was 42 years old and left behind four children, whose ages range from 10 to 22, according to the department. He joined the department back in 2007 and served in the Central County Precinct, the Bureau of Transit Police, North County Precinct, the Special Operations Unit, the Autio Crime Unit and Bureau of Drug Enforcement. He also previously served in the U.S. Army, National Guard and Air Force Reserve.
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