Jaquan Jamond Burrows, a 21-year-old Black/African American male from Erie, Pennsylvania, disappeared in late July 2023, and what first looked like a missing-person search soon became a homicide investigation. Online records and news reports identify him as having been lost to gun violence on July 21, 2023, in Erie. His family grew worried when they could not reach him, and he was reported missing days later. While police were looking into his disappearance, the people closest to him were also searching, hoping to find him alive.
Burrows was eventually found behind an abandoned home in the 900 block of Ash Street, near East 9th and Ash streets. His body had been there for days, undiscovered, in a badly decomposed condition. Reports later described the shooting as having happened after an argument between Burrows and Tyjahmon D. Crosby. The confrontation escalated until Crosby fired two shots, one of which struck Burrows in the chest. Burrows, wounded, climbed over a chain-link fence and ended up behind the abandoned property, where he died alone before anyone found him.
Police arrested Tyjahmon Crosby, then 20, in connection with Burrows’ death. Crosby was accused of being in the area with Burrows when the shooting happened, and investigators relied heavily on video evidence as the case developed. Crosby reportedly went to the Erie police station after hearing that allegations were circulating about him and Burrows’ disappearance, telling investigators he had nothing to do with it. At a later hearing, testimony indicated that video evidence contradicted parts of Crosby’s account.
Crosby was charged with homicide and several related offenses, including aggravated assault, firearms not to be carried without a license, possession of an instrument of crime, and other gun-related or violence-related charges. Prosecutors argued that Crosby’s actions were not justified and that he left Burrows mortally wounded after the shooting. The defense later argued self-defense, but that argument did not prevent a conviction.
In September 2025, Crosby was convicted of felony third-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, receiving stolen property, firearms not to be carried, misdemeanor possession of instruments of crime, and reckless endangerment. The case had originally included a criminal homicide charge, but it was later changed to third-degree murder. The conviction confirmed that Crosby was criminally responsible for the shooting death of Burrows, even though the jury did not return a first-degree murder conviction.
On October 29, 2025, Judge John Mead sentenced Crosby to 20 to 40 years in state prison for Burrows’ murder. The other felony sentences were ordered to run concurrently, meaning Crosby’s controlling sentence remained 20 to 40 years. Prosecutors said Crosby would be eligible for parole after 20 years, though the Erie County District Attorney’s Office indicated it would oppose parole. At sentencing, the court and prosecutors emphasized the cruelty and callousness of the crime, including the fact that Burrows was left behind an abandoned house and not found until long after he had died.
