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Quincy Jovan Allen, born November 7, 1979, in Columbia, South Carolina, is a convicted serial killer responsible for a series of brutal murders in both South Carolina and North Carolina during the summer of 2002. Initially sentenced to death, Allen later had his sentence overturned and now serves life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The 2002 Killing Spree
Quincy Allen’s deadly rampage began on July 7, 2002, when he randomly shot and injured a homeless man in Columbia’s Finlay Park. The attack appeared unprovoked and was later described by Allen as a “test run” for future killings. The man survived, but the assault marked the beginning of a deeply disturbing pattern of violence.
Three days later, on July 10, Allen encountered 45-year-old Dale Evonne Hall. After a brief interaction, he shot her multiple times and then set her body on fire. This brutal murder shocked the community not just for its savagery, but also for Allen’s apparent lack of motive—Hall was a complete stranger to him. He later admitted to choosing her at random.
Over the next month, Allen continued working at a local restaurant, blending into society while concealing his growing appetite for violence. On August 8, he shot and killed 22-year-old Jedediah Harr, a coworker, after a workplace argument escalated. The killing was reportedly triggered by a personal grudge, and Allen showed no remorse.
The very next day, he escalated again—this time through arson—by setting a fellow employee’s car on fire in the parking lot. This act appeared to be both retaliatory and attention-seeking.
His spree reached its peak on August 12 when he robbed a Citgo gas station in Dobson, North Carolina. During the robbery, he executed two employees, Richard Calvin Hawks and Robert Shane Roush, shooting them at point-blank range.
Allen fled the state but was arrested two days later in Texas after a nationwide manhunt.
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
In 2005, Allen pleaded guilty to the South Carolina murders and was sentenced to death. He also received a life sentence for the North Carolina killings. Years later, his death sentence was overturned due to concerns that the trial court had failed to fully consider evidence of Allen’s mental illness and traumatic upbringing.In 2024, Allen accepted a plea deal. He agreed to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole and waived his right to any further appeals. This effectively removed him from death row while ensuring he would remain incarcerated for the rest of his life.
Prison Incident
In 2009, Quincy Allen, already sentenced to death for multiple murders, proved that his violent tendencies had not diminished behind bars. While housed on death row at Broad River Correctional Institution in South Carolina, Allen, along with fellow condemned inmate Mikal Deen Mahdi, orchestrated a brazen escape attempt that nearly cost a corrections officer his life.The attack occurred during a routine movement within the facility. Allen and Mahdi had carefully observed prison procedures and identified a vulnerable moment when officers were less protected. Armed with sharpened metal shanks fashioned from prison materials, the two men ambushed the officer, striking him multiple times with the intent to kill. The plan was to overpower him, seize keys or credentials, and initiate an escape from the high-security unit.
Despite the ferocity of the assault, the officer fought back and managed to call for help. Other staff arrived quickly and subdued the inmates before they could move beyond the immediate area. The injured officer was rushed to a hospital and survived, but the attack left lasting psychological scars and prompted a major review of security protocols at the facility.
The incident reinforced the assessment that Allen remained a high-risk individual, even in the most controlled environment. Both inmates were immediately placed in solitary confinement and lost privileges, including visitation, recreation, and access to group activities. The attack also led to structural changes in how death row inmates were supervised and handled, including increased surveillance and more frequent security checks.
Allen’s willingness to kill again, even under a death sentence, marked him as a continued threat to everyone around him.
What’s Happening to the case right now:
As of 2025, Quincy Allen is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina. Though he once sat on death row, a federal appeals court overturned his sentence in 2022 after finding that the original trial had failed to properly account for his documented mental illnesses and the trauma he experienced throughout his childhood. Rather than face a retrial, Allen accepted a plea deal in 2024 that guaranteed he would spend the rest of his life behind bars.Allen remains in a high-security unit under constant surveillance due to his history of violence, including the 2009 attempted murder of a prison guard. He is largely isolated from other inmates and has restricted contact with the outside world.
His case continues to be cited in legal and psychological circles as a grim example of the intersection between untreated mental illness, violent criminal behavior, and systemic breakdowns in early intervention and rehabilitation.