Alexander David Alex Cavanah, 22, was shot and killed on January 25, 2020, during an attempted robbery at the Wendy’s in Washington Township near Edinboro, where he worked as a manager. The attack occurred shortly after 2 p.m. when a masked man armed with a 9 mm handgun entered the restaurant and tried to force employees to give him access to the safe. Witnesses said the robber chambered a round; during a struggle the assailant’s helmet came off and Cavanah stepped into the fight. Cavanah was shot in the leg and back, with some reports noting wounds to his leg and abdomen, and died after being taken to UPMC Hamot in Erie.

Authorities arrested 21-year-old Markese Denashawn Lampley later the same day after he fled on a motorcycle. He was charged in Erie County with murder and multiple related counts. At trial a jury convicted Lampley of second-degree murder and numerous other offenses; the judge sentenced him on August 18, 2021 to mandatory life without parole plus additional consecutive prison time. The judge described Cavanah as a hero; family accounts noted he had been married and was studying to become a pastor.