Richard Grier, 55, was sentenced to life in prison on February 19, 2025 in Charlotte, NC for murdering Andrew Allen, 32, at a Shell gas station. Follow Charlotte Alerts on Instagram.
Around 2:00 am on May 18, 2019, Richard was yelling homophobic slurs at groups of people while he stood in the parking lot of the Shell gas station at the intersection of South Blvd. and East Blvd.
Andrew happened to walk by and Richard hurled insults at him prompting a verbal altercation. Charlotte Alerts covered this story in real time.
Richard brandished a pocketknife during the exchange before returning to his truck to retrieve a bayonet style knife with a 6.5 inch blade.
Andrew began to walk away at which point Richard stabbed the victim 11 times. Witnesses at the gas station and across the street captured video of the incident on cell phones and a dash cam.
Richard then got into his truck and fled. Officers a block and a half from the gas station encountered Richard in his truck traveling at a high rate of speed and initiated a pursuit along West Boulevard.
The suspect failed to yield to officers and ran multiple red lights before continuing onto I-77 northbound.
Richard reached speeds over 100 mph for the next 4.5 miles before stopping his vehicle in the travel lane of the LaSalle/Atando exit.
Richard was arrested charged with murder. At 2025 trial, Richard was found guilty of first degree murder, the judge sentenced him to life in prison.
