Grieving father Stephen Federico demanded legislators hold career criminals accountable for their crimes Monday at a fiery House Judiciary Committee field hearing for victims of violent crimes.
Federico’s daughter, 22-year-old Logan, was murdered on May 3 while visiting friends in South Carolina. Her killer broke into the house where she was staying, dragged her out of bed, forced her to her knees, shot her dead and stole her belongings.
“My daughter wanted to be a teacher,” Stephen choked out at the hearing, which occurred in Logan’s native North Carolina. “She had finally figured it out two weeks before she was executed.”
Police arrested Alexander Devante Dickey, 30, for Logan’s murder after he used her stolen debit card. Stephen says police knew him on sight.
“When they saw his face on video, they didn’t have to do a check,” he fumed. “He was arrested so many times that they knew who he was. They knew exactly where to go get him.”
Police had filed criminal charges against Dickey 39 times before he allegedly murdered Logan. He pled guilty to multiple charges of grand larceny and burglary across three different cases between 2014 and 2023.
He was put on probation thrice during that time; twice, it was revoked.
“They cared more about making sure he wasn’t put in prison than worrying about whether or not he was going to hurt somebody,” Stephen told Fox’s Laura Ingraham.
Most, though not all, of Dickey’s offenses were reportedly nonviolent. But Stephen claims his crimes escalated in severity over time. In 2021, Dickey was granted supervised release after committing strong-arm robbery — a legal category of robbery in which an offender beats up or threatens to beat up a victim while robbing them.
Dickey’s extensive record alone should have precluded him from being released. But evidence uncovered by a local news outlet shows Dickey would likely still be in prison had it not been for a clerical error.
In 2023, Dickey finished out a five-year stint in prison for third-degree robbery — the maximum time an offender can receive for their first offense. But it wasn’t Dickey’s first offense. He had previously pled guilty to third-degree burglary in March 2015.
A subsequent investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) confirmed Dickey’s file did not include any information about two of the three cases brought against him between 2014 and 2015.
The error presumably occurred because the government brought more cases against Dickey while he was in custody. SLED didn’t book Dickey again for the new charges, so meant they weren’t added to his RAP sheet. The maintains prosecutors had access to Dickey’s full arrest record.
Regardless, if Hubbard had correctly charged Dickey with a second offense for third-degree burglary, he could have spent up to ten years in prison — and Logan would still be alive.
The case bears chilling resemblance to the murder of Iryna Zarutska in August. Decarlos Brown allegedly stabbed the 23-year-old to death with a pocket knife on a train in Charlotte. Brown had been arrested 14 times before — twice for assaulting women.
Stephen is determined to get true justice for his beloved daughter. He also wants to ensure elected officials hold offenders accountable for unacceptable behavior before they take a life.
“Stop protecting the people that keep taking them from us, please!” He begged the committee members.
“We put you in power,so do what you have to do. We’re begging you all to stop this.”
Laws and social rules enable humans to live together in a sinful world. God forbade murder and established court of law the the Noahic Covenant after the flood.
He provided the wandering Israelites with His divine law in Exodus and Leviticus. U.S. laws are rooted in the Ten Commandments given to the nation of Israel at Sinai.
In the New Testament, Paul explains that God gives governments authority punish wrongdoers and restrain bad conduct.
Clearly, South Carolina’s criminal justice system failed in its God-given duty to protect citizens.
Those who habitually harm their neighbors cannot be allowed to roam freely.
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