Grieving father Alton Sanders offers city thanks

ALBANY — It’s been one month since Alton Sanders’ life was turned upside down. In a matter of hours on a hot August morning, Sanders lost his mother, his children and his home in a fire off West Doublegate Drive, a horrific event that stunned the community.

Since that time, Sanders has been working to pick up the pieces and start over. The Florida native said the community support he’s received throughout the month has made a world of difference.

“Had it not been for the community and my job support, it would probably be an easy decision to just up and leave Albany,” he said. “But having that support, the job and the community, everybody, it gives me hope to stay. Like, ‘OK, you can rebuild here. You can go on with your life. You have support and people that actually love you and everything will be alright.’”

While the events of that fateful August day are still a blur, Sanders said he remembers the outpouring of love and compassion coming almost immediately after he learned that his mother, 54-year-old Jacqueline Sanders, his 6-year-old daughter, Zakyria Sanders, and 7-year-old Jaylan Barr had died and that a fire had demolished the family’s home.

“If I’m not mistaken, they all pulled together the day it happened,” he said of a the community’s show of compassion, including a benefit held in his Doublegate neighborhood. “From my co-workers to the people in the city, just everyone.”

Including Sanders’ neighbors, who put together and worked the impromptu lemonade stand/donation drive to raise money for Sanders and his family, a gesture that Sanders said was appreciated by everyone.

“It was really touching,” he said. “Me and my daughter’s mom, we really appreciate that, as well as Isiah (Gates, the 10-year-old who survived the ordeal). Everyone was so happy about it, it was amazing. (The response from the community has) been amazing, like really unbelievable.

“I’m thankful for all the support, the prayers, everything. They’ve been so helpful. It sucks that it comes during a time like this, but it’s been real helpful. It probably started the day everything happened.”

Isiah has since returned to Florida, but Sanders said he’s doing well.

“He’s doing fine, he’s in school and he also wants to thank everyone,” Sanders said. “His mom wants to thank everyone as well. He’s back in Miami right now and he’s doing well.”

Back in Albany, Sanders said he and his support system are getting through the best way they know how, with “prayer and faith.”

“Me and my daughter’s mom, we still talk just like every day just to check on each other. We get calls from people outside, from people just to check on us and basically just to make sure that we’re doing well. But prayer and faith. My entire life is just a new process now,” he said. “Everything I was so used to is deleted. I’m going to have to get used to a new life now. That’s what I’m still trying to learn.”

As much as he appreciates the community’s love and support, Sanders said he still would’ve liked to have seen more sensitivity shown by those involved with the case, specifically the district attorney’s office.

“I know the district attorney, he put out some information during the process that just wasn’t true,” Sanders said. “At one point he said my mom was doing better or something along those terms, I can’t remember, but I called the hospital like ‘Who’s telling the man this information?’ To find out where he’s getting his information from is what I’d like to know.

“You put out stuff before the police could even talk to us,” he added. “We’re finding all this stuff out from the news. Why don’t the detectives or the police know any of this? Why are we finding out through news and not the people we should be working with?”

Sanders said in the midst of all the chaos, the misinformation being spread put further strain on an already distraught family and made it hard to trust the detectives and officers who were still in working on the case.

“It sends the family in an uproar because it led the family to believe the detectives are holding back and not telling us information. So of course it pissed a lot of us off,” he said. “Some of the information he put out was false and bogus. One time he said my mother was coming back, another time WALB said Isiah was being airlifted to the hospital when Isiah was sitting right in the car with me.”

With all of that behind him, Sanders said the next step is showing appreciation and gratitude to the city in return for the outpouring of love he received during the most difficult time of his life.

“We’re in the process of getting addresses. I know I’m not gonna get everyone’s address, but if I could just thank everyone, that would be my main goal,” he said. “Myself, my daughter’s mom, Isaiah, like I said we appreciate everything the community and the city of Albany have done.”