What the judge said before sentencing man for killing girlfriend’s father at N.C. State

Quinten Crawford was eating Chinese food with his wife when his daughter called for help, according to court statements.

Crawford, 61, put down his utensil and left to pick up his daughter, who had had a fight with her boyfriend, Theodore James Lee Jr.

Crawford did pick up his daughter, only to be chased down and shot multiple times on N.C. State’s Centennial campus just before 6:30 p.m. on June 10, 2020, according to statements in court.

Lee, 26, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Monday. His sentencing was postponed until Friday so Crawford’s family could attend.

At stake during the Friday hearing was whether Lee would spend the minimum sentence of 23 to 28 years in state prison, or closer to the maximum of 28 years to 35 years.

Sentencing ranges are based on state guidelines that consider the crime, the defendant’s criminal record, and the circumstances of the crime.

The murder

On June 10, 2020, Lee and Crawford’s daughter, who had been dating for about six years, had fought at Lee’s apartment on the Centennial Campus. Neither Lee nor Crawford’s daughter attended N.C. State.

Crawford’s daughter left the apartment on foot and called her father to pick her up.

“There had been a history between these two, including domestic violence where this defendant was violent, and the family was well versed in this issue and did not want that relationship to continue,” Assistant District Attorney Patrick Latour said in court Monday.

The history included Lee threatening violence and even death if the relationship ended, Latour said, and Crawford was so concerned that he had bought a gun to protect his family.

He took that gun with him when he went to pick up his daughter.

In general, The News & Observer doesn’t name domestic violence victims, and it is not naming Crawford’s daughter following such allegations in court.

Lee claims self-defense

Lee’s attorney Anna Smith Felts denied there was domestic violence, saying law enforcement investigated the allegations but Lee was never charged.

Lee killed Crawford in self-defense, she said.

Crawford picked up his daughter in a Volvo SUV, but Lee was driving around the area looking for her in his black Camaro.

One witness described seeing Lee driving fast, making a U-turn and striking Crawford’s SUV on Main Campus Drive, Latour said. Lee then pulled alongside Crawford’s SUV and then in front of it.

He then got out of his car, went to his trunk, and pulled out an AR-15-style weapon and shot into Crawford’s SUV more than 15 times, according to statements in court.

Crawford’s daughter told police she was in the passenger seat with her father, but jumped out to try to stop Lee from opening fire.

Lee, however, contends he opened fire because he thought he was in danger after the collision disabled his car and he saw Crawford holding a gun, Felts said.

First-degree murder

Lee was initially charged with first-degree murder, which has an automatic sentence of life in prison upon conviction.

The state reluctantly agreed to the second-degree murder plea earlier in the week, Latour said, because of statements indicating that Lee may have seen a gun in Crawford’s hand.

Witnesses said Lee’s hitting the SUV with his car and then blocking it seemed intentional, but Felts argued that the car was disabled and the blocking wasn’t on purpose.

After Lee opened fire, he put the gun down on the grass and remained on the scene until police arrived, Felts said.

A family devastated

Family members described Crawford as a U.S. Army veteran, an outstanding father and son, and a best friend to his wife, mother and his daughters.

Hailey Gordon, one of Crawford’s daughters, described him as a hero who sacrificed his life for his daughter.

“He saved her,” Gordon said.

Crawford’s wife, Traci, said Lee killed her husband six months shy of their 26-year anniversary, leaving her to live life alone.

“My whole life has been basically destroyed and ruined,” she testified via video, along with two of Crawford’s other daughters. A third daughter testified in person.

Traci Crawford said she has been in the hospital three times since her husband’s murder: once for broken heart syndrome and twice for high blood pressure.

Each of those health situations almost killed her, she said. Traci Crawford is also worried about her five grandchildren.

“It’s really hard to explain to them that he is no longer going to be there and they now have to talk to him in the sky,” she said.

Traci Crawford said she wants Lee to experience the pain the family has faced.

“I just want him to suffer 100 times more than what we are going through, and I still don’t think that will ever be enough,” she said.

Lee’s former girlfriend and Crawford’s daughter said she has felt guilty over the past two years for bringing Lee into her family’s lives. She said she is grateful that her family continues to support and embrace her. She also said it is hard to maintain relationships and communicate with people after the killing, and she fears that Lee will still hurt her.

“I am still afraid, I am still scared that one day if he gets out he might come do something to me,” she said.

What the judge said

Wake County Judge Keith Gregory had many thoughts about the evidence.

“I am just going to use reason and common sense,” he said.

The relationship between Lee and Crawford’s daughter was “toxic,” he said, quoting previous evidence, and Crawford left his meal to go help his daughter.

“You didn’t have to do this,” Gregory told Lee. “You didn’t have to hit the car. You didn’t have to shoot this man. You didn’t have to do any of this. You did this because you wanted to do this.”

The judge told Gregory’s family that he can’t explain any of the senseless actions.

“I can’t,” he said. “All I can do is do the right thing.”

And the right thing is to sentence Lee to the maximum of up to 35 years, he said.

Lee’s attorney did her job well in arguing for her client, Gregory said, but the judge said he still had to do what was right.

“What you did was wrong. It was wrong,” he told Lee. “And I am going to do what’s right. That’s the sentence of this court.”