Author: Elina Vaidya | Wild About Trial
On January 16, 2026, Danny Lyn Kaster was found dead at a Phoenix gas station around 7:45am.
According to a statement by the Phoenix Police Department, the 52-year-old man had decided to make a stop at a QuikTrip to use the restroom. Moments later, another man had joined the bathroom line, however he did so by cutting the line. Kaster tried to intervene but was met with a violent response by Deondre Franklin.
Surveillance footage from the gas station shows Franklin shooting Kaster multiple times in multiple locations, striking him in the face, shoulder, and leg. The Phoenix Fire Department transported Kaster to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
According to court documents, a witness reported seeing Franklin bypass the entire line and attempt to pull on the door handles of bathroom stalls. Kaster informed Franklin that there was a line, and the two appeared to engage in a rather heated conversation. When the two men began arguing, the witness reports that Franklin told Kaster “they should take this conversation outside [the bathroom].”
Not long after, this witnessed reported hearing gunshots. Another witness outside the bathroom reported seeing Franklin with his gun.
The investigation was led by homicide detectives from the Phoenix Fire Department. Authorities say that Franklin initially fled the scene. After Franklin left Kaster with fatal gunshot wounds, additional witnesses claim they saw Franklin exit the store and flee the scene in a vehicle.
He turned himself in the very next day and confessed to this brutal murder in plain sight. Franklin was arrested for one count of second-degree murder: ARS 13-1104. A Class 1 felony in Arizona, Franklin could face a sentence of anywhere between 10 and 25 years in prison. He is currently being held on a $1m bond.
