North Texas family sues apartment complex where son was killed in shooting, robbery
Logan Perkins was hardworking, passionate about his career and family-oriented, his parents said.
“He was always at work, and if you talk to any of his coworkers, they’ll tell you what a good, hardworking young man he was,” said Logan’s mother, Christie Perkins. “And as far as to me and Robert, he was our baby.”
He was the glue that held his family together.
“He would’ve given you the shirt off of his back if you needed it, in a heartbeat,” said Robert Perkins, Logan’s father.
Logan, along with his parents, grew up in Tomball, on the outskirts of Houston. He moved to North Texas, with his parents following suit in August 2023, to attend welding school at Tarrant County College.
He finished his education and was living at the Sansom Ridge Apartment homes in Sansom Park while he was working at Alliance Welding and Metal Fabrication. His life was cut short in February when he was robbed and fatally shot.
Now, his parents are looking to hold the apartment complex accountable in the death of their 24-year-old son.
The civil and criminal cases
Logan’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Sansom Ridge Apartment Homes on May 29 in a Travis County district court.
Property management companies LDG Development and Cardinal Group were also named in the suit.
Logan’s life “came to a violent end” at “the hands of a non-resident murderer,” the suit states.
Sansom Park police found Logan shot to death on Feb. 29 at his apartment, located at 3100 La Junta St.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged with his murder. A witness told police that the teen shot Logan three or four times and robbed him of a gun and marijuana thereafter, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The suit alleges the apartment complex management was aware or had reason to know of frequent violent criminal activity that occurs on its premises and nearby. Those crimes include armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm, drive-by shootings, theft, robberies, burglaries, drug dealing and gang activity, according to the suit.
Despite employees witnessing crimes and offenses being reported by residents, the apartment complex failed to communicate and provide safety measures to protect Logan, the suit alleges.
The suit cites a lack of on-site security, working gates, warnings, tenant notices, or other customary crime deterrents.
In responses filed with the court, the defendants denied the allegations in the suit. The defendants also filed a motion seeking to move the case to Tarrant County, according to court documents.
In surveillance video obtained by police, the suspect was seen physically fighting with a woman near the Sansom Ridge Apartments. Shortly after Logan arrived at his apartment that day, the suspect approached his building, according to the warrant.
“The property was so devoid of expected and needed security measures, that a non-resident could enter the property for the sole purpose of committing a violent felony without any concern of being observed, reported, or apprehended by Defendants’ representatives,” the lawsuit reads. “Such acts were repeated in great frequency as soon as the property was opened to residents to lease.”
Security measures were not unreasonable to implement and maintain, considering the foreseeable risk of violent criminal activity to the residents at Sansom Ridge Apartments, the suit states.
Logan was one of the residents who reported criminal activity to the apartment complex, according to the suit.
“The crime was foreseeable and it was only a matter of time before a murder happened on the premises,” the suit says.
According to Texas law, the owners of a property are responsible to utilize care to protect residents from criminal acts by third parties if they are aware of an unreasonable and foreseeable risk of harm to the residents.
Will Moye, the Perkinses’ attorney, says the presence of marijuana in Logan’s apartment did not have criminal implications.
“Like many Americans — young and old — Logan was an occasional recreational user. There is no suggestion or evidence of anything more nefarious,” Moye said in a statement.
Logan’s parents are asking to be compensated for damages including physical and mental pain the victim suffered and funeral expenses. They are also seeking compensation for their mental anguish, loss of companionship, and other losses as a result of Logan’s death.
But Robert and Christie are not only looking to hold Logan’s apartment home liable.
The 16-year-old suspect was sentenced to 20 years in juvenile detention with a review of his punishment for possible parole when he turns 19. But Logan’s parents believe prosecuting him as a minor led to inadequate punishment.
“The first thing that really caught us off guard was we were told that this kid was going to be charged with capital murder,” Robert told the Star-Telegram in an interview. Robert and Christie were then told by a Sansom Park detective and a prosecutor that it would be useless to ask a judge to try the 16-year-old as an adult capital murder suspect, the parents said.
“I think there’s just a generalized concern, whether fair or unfair, that there’s an approach at low-hanging legal fruit and it’s obviously an easier prosecution against a minor than it is an adult,” Moye said.
According to Texas Family Code 54, teens can be prosecuted as adults for certain offenses. A minor as young as 14 can be tried as an adult if they face a capital or first-degree felony and a 15-year-old can also be placed in the adult criminal system if they are alleged to have committed a second-degree felony, a third-degree felony or a state jail felony. Although, a judge must approve a prosecutor’s request to have a juvenile tried in adult court.
Additionally, Robert and Christie feel prosecutors were not communicative with them while handing Logan’s case.
“We met with the parents of Logan Perkins numerous times before and after the disposition of this case. The juvenile was sentenced to 20 years in the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and the parents were present for the disposition of the case,” the DA’s Office said in a statement to the Star-Telegram.
The DA’s Office did not elaborate on why prosecutors did not seek to try the defendant as an adult.
“The victim’s family and the victim was not necessarily looked at and what they’re going through, only whether or not the child is gonna get a second chance is being considered,” Robert said. “We’re not against necessarily getting a second chance, but we do believe there should be punishment.”
“They [Robert and Christie] have given their concerns to the prosecutor that they want a requisite amount of justice that fits the crime,” Moye said. “There’s a concern that if he’s undercharged, then obviously what’s going to result is much, much less.”
Filing the lawsuit was the first step for the Perkins family.
“Ultimately we can’t control the criminal case. We have to rely on our elected officials to do that for us,” Moye said. “The only thing we can do in seeking accountability is control the civil case. And that’s the motivation that we’ve brought forth to file the claim against the owner and management company.”
