Thomas James Nix, 27, was convicted last month of two felony death by vehicle charges in the automobile accident that caused the deaths of Luke and Restin Drawdy.
As of March 3, Nix was moved from the Charlotte Mecklenburg detention Center to the Piedmont Central Incarceration (PCI) unit in Salisbury, North Carolina. He will remain there until 2031.
Multiple media outlets throughout Charlotte reported on the deaths of Luke and Restin Drawdy in November of 2021. The well-liked and married gay male couple were active in the Charlotte LGBTQ Community in both Stonewall Sports and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte.
The automobile accident occurred the evening of November 23, 2021, shortly after 9:00 p.m in the 9700 block of North Tryon Street. According to the police report, officers found the Drawdy’s 2011 Audi Q5 SUV, which had sustained heavy damage, stopped in the northbound lane. Nearby officers found a 2017 Volkswagen Golf GTI with heavy front end damage, driven by Nix.
The Drawdys were killed instantly and pronounced dead on the scene, Nix experienced injuries that required an extended hospital stay. He was arrested and charged with two felony counts of death by vehicle on November 25 at 7:18 p.m., although he was released on bail later in the night at 12:11 a.m. on November 26.
While out on bail, he was subsequently charged with two felony counts of second-degree murder (in relation to the Drawdy case) and arrested January 28, 2022 at 7:29 p.m., only to be released again later that evening on bail at 11:31 p.m.
Following his second release, the secondary charges were later dropped.
After multiple trial date postponements, Nix finally went to court February 16, 2023 and was convicted of the felony death by vehicle charges.
Following the trial he was sent back to the Charlotte central jail facility where he remained from February 16 through March 2 before transfer the following morning to PCI.
Records on Nix describe him as a medium risk inmate and confirm he has been released into the central population as of March 3. He will serve a total of eight years.