An Alabama man accused of fatally shooting a University of Alabama student, a father of three and a family dog was found concealed in an attic crawl space only hours after authorities discovered the victims inside a home, officials said.
De’Kendrick Crawford, 24, has been charged with capital murder in connection with the July 6 deaths of Jazmine Alexis Bates, 22, and Jose Felix Alvarez-Duenas, 31, the Tuscaloosa County Violent Crimes Unit said.
The case unfolded after the homeowner, who was traveling outside the country, grew concerned when she was unable to get in touch with Alvarez-Duenas, whom she had asked to stay at the house and look after her dog.
Booking photo of De’Kendrick Crawford following his arrest in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. (Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office)
When she reviewed footage from her doorbell cameras, the homeowner saw a man behaving suspiciously on the back porch overnight and asked her landlord to call police.
Brookwood officers responding to the welfare check found Alvarez-Duenas dead just inside the home’s front entrance.
While searching the rest of the residence, officers found Bates dead in a bedroom closet. Investigators said both victims had been shot, and the homeowner’s dog was also found killed.
Investigators said Bates, Alvarez-Duenas and the homeowner were acquainted through their jobs at a local business. Crawford had worked there previously as well and knew all three of them.
Doorbell camera footage, electronic evidence and other physical evidence quickly led detectives to Crawford, who was tracked to a relative’s apartment in nearby Northport.
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Rather than surrender, Crawford barricaded himself inside the apartment, prompting a large response from local, state and federal law enforcement.
Jose Felix Alvarez-Duenas poses with his three young children in an undated family photo. (GoFundMe)
Officers eventually breached the apartment and found him hiding in an attic crawl space roughly 10 hours after the victims were discovered.
According to jail records, Crawford was booked July 7 on charges of capital murder involving two or more persons and discharging a firearm into an occupied building.
The homicide investigation also uncovered that Crawford was already wanted on an unrelated felony warrant tied to a May shooting near the University of Alabama.
Police allege Crawford fired several rounds into an occupied office building near Coleman Coliseum after being fired from a contractor job on campus.
Friends, family and former coworkers remembered University of Alabama student Jazmine Bates after her death. (GoFundMe)
Authorities emphasized that the contractor position was unrelated to the local business where he had worked alongside the victims.
The killings stunned friends and former coworkers at Buffalo Phil’s Wings, where Bates, Alvarez-Duenas, the homeowner and Crawford had all previously worked together.
“It is with shattered hearts that we share the unimaginable loss of two beloved members of our work family,” the restaurant wrote in a Facebook tribute. “Felix and Jazmine were more than employees—they were family.”
Jose Felix Alvarez-Duenas smiles while holding a bottle in an undated photo. (Felix Alvarez Facebook)
The restaurant remembered Alvarez-Duenas as “a devoted single father to three beautiful children,” adding that “nothing in this world made him prouder than being their dad.”
Bates, who moved to Alabama from Chicago, was expected to graduate from the University of Alabama in December. The restaurant said she “came here with big dreams and was determined to build a bright future,” remembering her as someone with “a beautiful heart, and a smile that made everyone around her feel welcome.”
University of Alabama student Jazmine Alexis Bates smiles in an undated photo. (GoFundMe)
“Our hearts are with Felix’s three children, both of their families, their friends, and everyone whose lives they touched,” the restaurant wrote. “Felix and Jazmine…you will never be forgotten.”
The University of Alabama also mourned Bates’ death.
“We extend our deepest sympathy to family and friends of Jazmine Bates after this tragedy,” the university said in a statement to INC News. “UA staff have contacted her family to offer support. Counseling and support resources are available to impacted students through the Office of Student Care and Well Being.”
The university also thanked local law enforcement and the University of Alabama Police Department for their response.
GoFundMe pages have been created to help support Alvarez-Duenas’ three children and to assist Bates’ family with funeral expenses and transportation costs to return her to her hometown of Chicago.
