‘Didn’t deserve this’: Tow truck driver killed in east Charlotte was father to 2

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said a suspect accused of killing a tow truck driver was arrested in Orange County, Texas.

The victim’s family told Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz that Khyre Grier was just doing his job when he was killed. Grier, 25, was a father to a 5-year-old and a newborn.

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“He was smart. He loved cars,” said his mother, Tamara Grier.

“And the job he has, well, he had — excuse me. He loved it. He loved his towing job.”

The grieving mother spoke with Sáenz over the phone.

“I really don’t know how I’m going to cope with this,” she said. “I don’t know how I’m going to get through it.”

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s team who tracks down the most violent criminals in the city were trying to find Ramon Alexi Santos Funes, 34, who they believe helped kill him.

CMPD homicide Sgt. Eduardo Quevedo said on Sept. 26, Grier was found shot to death in the driver’s seat of his tow truck at an apartment complex off Eastcrest Drive in east Charlotte.

Grier’s mother told Sáenz his girlfriend was on the phone with him right before he was killed and could hear people talking to him in Spanish.

“The last thing she heard was him saying that he was going to drop the car. So, he already had the car up there,” his mom said.

Then the call dropped.

Court records said the killing was captured on a dashboard camera inside the tow truck.

“It just seems he was a young man doing his job and he didn’t deserve this,” Sgt. Quevedo said.

CMPD said that same day, they arrested Fabio Herminio Funes, 49. He was charged with first-degree murder at the end of an interview with detectives.

The next day, detectives asked for help finding his brother, who they later identified as Ramon Funes.

“We believe there are people out there who know more than what they’re saying,” Sgt. Quevedo said hours before the announcement that Ramon Funes was arrested.

That was why Quevedo asked people to come forward if they knew where Ramon Funes was so it could lead to closure for Grier’s family.

“Just do the right thing,” Grier’s mom said. “What’s wrong is wrong and what’s right is right.”

Sáenz learned Ramon Funes was from Honduras. He asked police if they were worried he may have gone back to that country, and they said while it’s a possibility, they want him in jail.

There was a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Call Crime Stoppers if you know anything: 704-334-1600.

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