On the morning of October 31, 2023, a dispute at the Mapco gas station at 385 Harding Place in Nashville left 26-year-old Rezai Dashti dead. The encounter, about 9:30 a.m., ended when Dashti was shot; he was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and died of his injuries.

Metro Nashville Police Department Homicide Unit detectives treated the incident as stemming from a pre-existing conflict rather than a random attack. Investigators said the dispute involved a drug-related issue between Dashti and the suspect. Within weeks, detectives identified 32-year-old Demarco Locust as the suspect and on November 30, 2023 he was located after a brief vehicle pursuit and taken into custody. Locust was charged with criminal homicide and held without bond; he also faced felony evading charges related to the pursuit and an unrelated aggravated-assault allegation from April 2023.

Does anyone have information about Dashti’s movements that morning or the lead-up to the dispute?