In the early morning hours of April 18, 2019, a dispute at a Nashville, Tennessee, gas station tragically escalated, ending the life of 34-year-old Carlos E. Logan. An African American man, Logan was at the Shell station located at 361 Harding Place when he became involved in an altercation with another individual. The argument, which reportedly began over a snack cake Logan threw, spilled out into the parking lot and turned violent.
In a sudden and fatal turn of events, the other man produced a firearm and shot Logan in the torso. Emergency services rushed Logan to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, but his injuries proved too severe, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation, aided by surveillance footage from the gas station, quickly identified the suspect as Leroy Dallas Topp, then 31 years old. Authorities discovered that Topp had a significant and violent criminal history, including prior convictions in Michigan for homicide/manslaughter and assault with intent to commit murder. Following the shooting, Metro Nashville police issued a first-degree murder warrant for Topp, who had fled the scene. He was believed to be driving a gray Ford F-150 pickup truck.
A multi-state manhunt for Topp ensued, culminating in his capture five days later. Acting on a tip developed by the Nashville-area U.S. Marshals Task Force, federal agents apprehended Topp in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on April 23, 2019. He was taken into custody without incident and subsequently charged with homicide for the shooting death of Carlos Logan. Despite the serious charges, Topp was later released on a $200,000 bond. His legal troubles did not end there, as in April 2022, while awaiting trial for Logan's murder, he was arrested again on felony drug and weapons charges after an undercover detective witnessed what appeared to be an illegal drug transaction.
