The distraught father of a 22-year-old aspiring teacher murdered by a “career criminal” while visiting friends at the University of South Carolina scolded lawmakers on Monday for the lax crime policies that allowed her killer to remain free.
Stephen Federico delivered a raw, gut-wrenching address during a congressional hearing in Charlotte aimed at tackling growing concerns over violent crime and repeat offenders — speaking just weeks after the high-profile murder of Ukrainian national Iryna Zarutska.
Tension was already high before the grief-stricken father addressed the committee, after Democratic North Carolina Rep. Deborah Ross mistakenly pointed to a photo of his daughter, identifying it as Zarutska.
“This is my daughter, okay? This is Logan Federico,” he chastised Ross. “How dare you not know her.”
Ross repeatedly apologized for the mistake before the hearing continued.
“How many of y’all have kids?” the grieving father sternly asked the committee. “Here’s what I need you to do. When I tell you this story… think about your child.”
His daughter, Logan Federico, was fatally shot on May 3 while visiting friends at USC in Columbia, South Carolina, after 30-year-old “career criminal” Alexander Dickey broke into the Cypress Street home.
“Think about your child coming home from a night out with friends, lying down, going to sleep, feeling somebody come into the room…and wake them. And drag her out of bed. Naked. Forced on her knees. With her hands over her head. Begging for her life. Begging for her hero. Her father. Me. That couldn’t be there,” Federico said while fighting back tears and anger.
“She was 5-foot-3. She weighed 115 lbs… BANG!” he shouted at the members of the committee.
“Dead. Gone. Why? Because Alexander Devonte Dickey — who was arrested 39 goddam times, 25 felonies — was on the street.
Dickey had a long record of break-ins and went on a credit card spending spree after shooting Logan, before being taken into custody.
Federico blasted the justice system for its failure to protect not only his daughter but also countless others.
“He should have been in jail for over 140 years for all of the crimes he committed. You know how much time he spent in prison? A little over 600 days in ten years. He’s only 30 years old,” Federico said.
“He was committing 2.65 crimes a year since he was 15 years old. But nobody could figure out that he couldn’t be rehabilitated. Well, you’d have to put him in prison to see if he could be rehabilitated. Isn’t that the idea of prison? But no.”
The heartbroken father vowed to keep fighting.
“I will fight until my last breath for my daughter. I’m not going to be quiet until somebody helps. Logan deserves to be heard. Everyone on this panel deserves to be heard. And we will. Trust me,” he vowed.
“You have the power. We put you into power to do what you have to do. We’re asking you, we’re begging you all to stop this.”
Records show Dickey faced nearly 40 charges since 2013, but was sentenced in only eight cases, involving robbery, drug possession, and larceny.
In 2023, Dickey pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary, receiving a five-year sentence with over 410 days credited and had his probation shortened “for compliance.”
In the early morning of May 3, Dickey drove a stolen vehicle into the neighborhood and parked on Cypress Street, apparently at random, according to Columbia police.
He then allegedly broke into one home, stealing car keys and a firearm, before entering the house where Federico was staying, where he allegedly executed her.
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 crashed the vehicle shortly after, then fled on foot to the same Gaston home law enforcement had visited the previous day, where he forced his way inside.
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.
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, and three counts of financial transaction card theft.
He faces life in prison for the charges filed against him.
with Post wires
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