Patrolman Lee Anthony Crews, 27, of the Valdosta Police Department was killed on January 24, 1984, after responding to a burglar alarm at a restaurant on Ashley Street. He pursued a fleeing suspect into a nearby parking lot, and during a struggle the suspect gained control of Crews’ service weapon and fatally shot him. Crews was a U.S. Army veteran who had served six years with the department and left behind his wife, two sons, two brothers, and two sisters.

The suspect, named Sinclair Caldwell, fled to Detroit, Michigan. A multi-agency manhunt led to his arrest in Detroit and extradition back to Georgia. In June 1984, a day before his trial was to begin, Caldwell pleaded guilty to murder and received a life sentence plus an additional 35 years on related charges.

Crews’ death deeply affected the Valdosta community and fellow officers. Memorials and tributes were held, a memorial stone was dedicated at the old C&S Bank building on South Patterson Street (later replaced after vandalism), and an endowed scholarship in his name was created at Valdosta State University’s criminal justice program.