Burlie Dawson Locklear III and his girlfriend, Jaylen Madden, were working at a North Carolina Waffle House on September 13, 2024, when tragedy struck. Florwer Carlin Lizano Jr., 39, reportedly went into the restaurant and ordered food. At some point, he apparently became unhappy with the service Madden gave, and Dawson Locklear intervened.
Suddenly, Lizano allegedly shot the 18-year-old boy and fled the scene. Police arrested him in Virginia in January, after a four-month manhunt. Now he’s back in North Carolina, and the family hopes it will bring justice for Dawson Locklear.
Lizano’s attorney, Chas Post III, told USA Today his client “is cloaked in the presumption of innocence.” He added he only left the state after family members allegedly received death threats.
Post added, “He didn’t even know he was charged with a crime until the threats came and until he was posted all over the local news,” the attorney said. “Just because law enforcement said he did it, doesn’t mean he did it.”
Elizabeth Locklear, Dawson Locklear’s biological aunt who raised him, told USA Today her nephew died in a senseless killing.
“He killed my kid over grits and eggs,” she said. “How do you get so upset over grits and eggs to where you want to take somebody’s life?”
Elizabeth Locklear said Madden called her the night of the shooting, and she rushed to the hospital. But when she arrived, her heart sank.
“I could see the EMS worker, she was on top of him, doing CPR,” she said. “I already knew right then that it was going to be bad.”
Elizabeth Locklear feels a bit of vindication, knowing Liziano will face the consequences of his alleged actions.
“There’s no more running,” she said. “There’s no more trying to fight to get out or not being able to come back to this county to get charged for what he has done. He’s done the crime, now he’s got to pay the price.”
According to his obituary, Dawson Locklear enjoyed all aspects of his life. “In life, we meet all types of people, but we can say that Dawson was truly one of a kind. He was a jokester and a spirit lifter. No matter how you felt, he could make you laugh and smile. He loved his family and friends and loved them with everything he had, especially his girlfriend Jaylen. Whether you saw him helping cook bloomin’ onions or waiting your table at Waffle House he had that infectious smile.”
Per jail records, Lizano is held in North Carolina’s Scotland County Sheriff’s office without bond and faces a charge of first-degree murder.
