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Prosecutors say the defendant shot his friend twice during an argument inside a car before fleeing the scene without calling for help.

Allentown, PA – A man convicted in the 2018 fatal shooting of his friend in Allentown was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison, the maximum penalty allowed under the conviction, prosecutors said.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced that Anderson Jorge Cruz, 27, was sentenced by Judge Robert L. Steinberg after a jury convicted him in December of voluntary manslaughter under the “unreasonable belief” provision.

Key Points

• Anderson Jorge Cruz sentenced to 10 to 20 years for 2018 Allentown killing
• Victim Juan Alfredo Sanchez was shot twice during an argument in a car
• Sentence will run consecutively to Cruz’s existing Massachusetts sentence

Argument escalated into fatal shooting

Police responded April 26, 2018 to the 300 block of Linden Street in Allentown after reports of a shooting.

Officers found 24-year-old Juan Alfredo Sanchez lying in the street suffering from two gunshot wounds to the torso.

Sanchez was rushed to a hospital and underwent emergency surgery but later died from his injuries. The Lehigh County Coroner ruled his death a homicide.

Investigators determined Cruz and Sanchez were inside a vehicle together when a verbal dispute escalated into a physical fight.

During the altercation, Cruz pulled a handgun from under the seat and fired twice at Sanchez before fleeing the scene at a high rate of speed.

Suspect fled state after killing

Authorities said Cruz did not call police or emergency services after the shooting.

Instead, prosecutors said he went to get a haircut following the incident.

A warrant was issued for Cruz the day after the killing, but investigators later learned he had given away the gun used in the shooting, sold his car, and fled to Massachusetts.

Additional homicide in Massachusetts

Two months after arriving in Massachusetts, Cruz committed a second homicide, according to prosecutors.

In 2019, he was arrested by federal authorities during a heroin and fentanyl trafficking investigation and later pleaded guilty in both the federal drug case and the Massachusetts homicide.

Cruz was eventually returned to Pennsylvania in 2024 to stand trial for the Allentown killing.

Judge Steinberg ordered that Cruz serve his Pennsylvania sentence consecutively to the sentence he is already serving in Massachusetts.

Tags: Allentown PA homicide, Anderson Jorge Cruz sentence, Linden Street shooting, Lehigh County manslaughter case, Juan Alfredo Sanchez death

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