Father of NC college student 'furious' after career criminal allegedly kills daughter in USC house burglary

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The father of a North Carolina college student who was shot in a "random" burglary earlier this month while she was staying with University of South Carolina students for the weekend was "furious" when he learned of the suspect's lengthy criminal history.

Logan Federico, a 22-year-old aspiring teacher from Waxhaw, was visiting friends at USC in Columbia, South Carolina, and staying at a house on Cypress Street on the evening of May 2 through May 3.

In the early morning hours of May 3, suspect Alexander Dickey, a 30-year-old "career criminal," entered the home in the early morning, stole several credit and debit cards and fatally shot Logan in what Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook described as a "random" crime during a May 5 press conference.

"She was supposed to go down the night before, and plans got canceled … so she decided to do it on a Friday," Logan's father, Stephen Federico, told Fox News Digital. "That's the thing that's just gut-wrenching. She wasn't even supposed to be there. She was supposed to be home Friday."

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On Saturday afternoon, Logan's mother, Melissa Federico, was at home cooking when two officers showed up at her door to tell her the news that Logan had been shot dead in Columbia. Stephen had been golfing with friends when his wife called.

"Then, I heard … the screams from my wife on the phone and … she didn't want to tell me that, and I had to kind of pull it out of her," Stephen recalled. "And she finally said Logan's gone, and I said, ‘What do you mean gone?’ She said dead. And that moment, I had no reaction. I was in shock."

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He described his feelings upon learning that Logan had been shot as "a kick in the stomach" and "a panic."

When he learned through local news that Dickey was a career criminal with nearly 40 prior arrests across different North Carolina counties, he felt "furious."

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"That was shocking. Absolutely shocking," he said. "I got a name, but obviously, I didn't get a lot of information. They were still investigating the whole background. They told me he was a career criminal. We referred him to something else. It is what it is — that's the way I feel. But yeah, it was a shock that he was actually out on the streets."

Logan had been studying at Central Piedmont Community College and working two jobs at the time of her death. She had aspirations to attend a four-year college and become a teacher after she developed a love of kids while babysitting her neighbors over the summer.

Federico described her personality as "electric … outgoing, personable, infectious."

"Huge heart," he said. "Somebody that cared intensely about people that would go out of her way to make somebody feel included and find the people that felt excluded and make sure she pulled them in."

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In the early morning hours of May 3, Dickey drove a stolen vehicle into the neighborhood and parked the car on Cypress Street, seemingly at random, according to Columbia police. He allegedly broke into one home and stole the keys to another vehicle and a firearm. He then broke into the home where Federico was staying, police said.

There, Dickey allegedly stole several credit cards, saw Federico sleeping in one of the rooms in the house and fatally shot her with the stolen firearm.

Authorities responded to the residence around 11 a.m., when Federico was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound. Columbia police described Logan as "a true victim and not an intended target."

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The next day, Dickey went on a "shopping spree" using the stolen credit cards in West Columbia, and the stolen vehicle he was using broke down in Saluda County, police said. He allegedly called a tow truck to have the stolen vehicle transported to a residence in Gaston.

Authorities began tracking Dickey as a person of interest and responded to the residence in Gaston on May 3. He allegedly fled the home when they arrived, and officials spent the remainder of Saturday searching for him.

Around 4 p.m. on May 4, a Gaston resident reported seeing a man, later identified as Dickey, emerge from the woods and steal a car. He wrecked the stolen car and fled on foot to the initial Gaston residence law enforcement had responded to the day before and forced his way inside the home.

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Authorities surrounded the residence and ordered him to emerge, at which point Dickey allegedly tried to set fire to the home. Lexington County Sheriff's Office deputies detained him at the residence.

Federico said his daughter's murder robbed the world of a kind person who loved to help others — and robbed the children who would have been Logan's future students of a great teacher.

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Last week, Dickey appeared in court for a bond hearing. Federico and other family members attended the hearing. He said it was important to him to show up for Logan, and he will continue to do so until his daughter gets justice.

The grieving father also thanked Columbia police for their quick work in tracking down and arresting Dickey, calling two officers in particular his "friends."

"They're now my friends. All of them are," he said. "Just special people. Really special people. They found their calling."

Dickey is charged with murder, two counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, two counts of grand larceny, grand larceny of a motor vehicle, three counts of financial transaction card theft.

He was given a probation sentence for a burglary charge in 2023, which was reduced for compliance. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 25. He faces life in prison for the charges filed against him in Lexington County.

Dickey's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.