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Teen Pleads Guilty In Fatal Shooting At Troy Family Dollar

Nearly a year after a husband and father of five was shot to death outside a Family Dollar store in the region, a teenager has formally confessed to killing him.

Alexander Crawford, age 39, was shot to death during a confrontation with another customer outside a Family Dollar store in Troy on July 2, 2023. 

Alexander Crawford, age 39, was shot to death during a confrontation with another customer outside a Family Dollar store in Troy on July 2, 2023. 

Photo Credit: Sidewinder Photography/S.L. Mclaughlin Funeral Home

Jahteek Sanchez, age 17 or 18, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Rensselaer County Court on Friday, May 17, in the death of Alexander Crawford.

The 39-year-old Crawford, of Troy, was fatally shot on July 2, 2023, outside the Family Dollar store located near 102nd Street and 2nd Avenue in Troy. 

According to Police, Sanchez and Crawford got into an argument in front of the business and Sanchez opened fire.

Crawford managed to go back inside the store and tell employees he had been shot. He was taken by ambulance to Samaritan Hospital in Troy where he was pronounced dead.

Police did not immediately speculate on what sparked the confrontation, but an obituary for Crawford said he was shot "while protecting his son."

No other customers or employees were injured in the attack.

Sanchez, who was 16 years old at the time, was arrested at an apartment complex more than a month later, on Aug. 16. He was initially charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

He faces up to 25 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Friday, July 12. 

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