Grieving Father Slams Soft-on-Crime Policies After Daughter’s Murder

On May 3, 2025, 22-year-old Logan Haley Federico, a vibrant college student from Waxhaw, North Carolina, was full of life, visiting friends near the University of South Carolina in Columbia. The aspiring teacher had just finished a night out and returned to a rental home when nightmare struck. Around 2 a.m., Alexander Devonte Dickey, a 30-year-old career criminal, broke in during a burglary spree. Police say Dickey forced Logan and her friends to the floor, robbed them, and shot Logan execution-style in the chest while she knelt, begging for her life. She died in her father's arms hours later at the hospital—her hero unable to save her.

Dickey, no stranger to crime, had racked up 39 arrests and 25 felonies since 2014, including multiple first-degree burglaries that could've locked him away for 15 years minimum. Yet, due to plea deals, lax bail reforms, and a "revolving door" justice system, he'd spent just over 600 days in prison across a decade. That night, he'd already stolen a car, hit another home for guns and cash, then targeted Logan's. Cops knew him so well they ID'd him instantly from ATM footage using her stolen debit card. Charged with murder, burglary, and armed robbery, Dickey awaits trial, denied bond.
Logan's father, Stephen Federico, a stoic dad of three girls, channeled raw grief into fury. On September 29, 2025, he testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight in Charlotte, North Carolina—a field hearing on "Victims of Violent Crime" spotlighting repeat offenders. Flanked by Logan's photo, Steve unloaded on lawmakers: "Bang... dead... gone. All she wanted was to visit friends, and she was executed on her knees, begging for her hero." He slammed South Carolina's failures—"lack of communication, soft solicitors"—for freeing Dickey despite his rap sheet. "How is it possible he was on the street?" he demanded, vowing, "You pissed off the wrong daddy. I'm fighting for justice."

Tensions peaked when Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC) confused Logan with Iryna Zarutska, another recent victim. "This isn't Iryna! This is my daughter—how dare you not know her?" Steve roared, tears flowing.