Do you know who murdered Leonard Melvin Lucas in 1973? Leonard Melvin Lucas, a 50-year-old Caucasian man and retired U.S. Air Force veteran, was a devoted family man. A native of Olney, Illinois, he was born on May 12, 1922, and attended high school there before enlisting in the military in 1943. He served his country for 22 years. After his military career, he settled in Gastonia, North Carolina. He was married to Ola Mae Lucas and was the father of three children: twin sons, Kenneth and Jerry, and a daughter, Lucinda Clark. By 1973, he was also a grandfather to two grandchildren. Though unemployed at the time of his death, having quit his job as a dispatcher for the city fire department about six months prior, he remained a supportive husband.
On the night of Thursday, April 26, 1973, Leonard went to the Li'l General Store on Carolina Avenue in Gastonia. His wife, Ola, was the manager and night operator of the store. Leonard often helped her during late shifts for safety.
That evening, he had gone to visit her, and because he had been ill and hadn't slept well the previous night, Ola asked him to watch the store so she could take a nap in a back area.
Around 9:20 p.m., a customer named James McDaid was in the store. As he left, he told police he saw one Black man enter the store while another waited outside in a parked car. Shortly after, at about 9:30 p.m., another customer, 24-year-old Ronnie Stowe, walked into the business. He found a disturbing scene. Leonard was behind the counter, on the floor, "moving his hand against a cardboard trash box." The cash register was open with all the bills gone, and change was scattered around Leonard's body. The assailants had made off with less than $50.
Leonard had been shot once, with a single bullet striking him just above his left eyebrow. He was grievously wounded but still alive. He was rushed first to Gaston Memorial Hospital and then transferred to Charlotte Memorial Hospital in Charlotte for more advanced care. Gastonia Police officers stayed with him, hoping he would regain consciousness and be able to identify his attacker. Tragically, that moment never came.
Leonard Melvin Lucas succumbed to his injuries at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Friday, April 27, 1973, about 17 hours after the shooting. His death was ruled a homicide caused by the gunshot wound to his head. The Gastonia Police Department, led at the time by Capt. Paul Childress, immediately launched an investigation. They appealed to the public for help, asking anyone who was near the store around the time of the robbery to come forward with any information, promising confidentiality.
Despite the witness account of two men at the scene, no one was ever charged in connection with the robbery and murder. The case grew cold as new leads and information stopped coming in. Over the decades, the investigation has been revisited. Former Gastonia Police Sgt. Jimmy Arndt, working as a part-time cold case investigator, has reviewed the file, driven by a desire to bring closure to families who have waited so long for answers. He has noted the difficulties of solving decades-old cases, as witnesses move or pass away and memories fade.
More than fifty years later, the murder of Leonard Lucas remains one of Gastonia's oldest unsolved homicides. His family was left to mourn a husband, father, and grandfather taken from them in a senseless act of violence for a pittance. The case is still open, a painful reminder of justice yet to be served. As of October 2016, the Gastonia Police Department continues to seek new information that might finally solve this decades-old crime. 
