Shooting, kidnapping suspect described as 'time bomb'
FRANKLIN COUNTY (WTVD) -- Devon Whaley's history of domestic violence is well-documented in the thick file of court records obtained by ABC11.
The records detail a series of scary incidents -- all leading up to last Friday night in Youngsville, when neighbors heard gunshots and dialed 911.
"I just heard two shots next door to me," said Desiree Hopkins' next-door neighbor as she alerted a Franklin County 911 dispatcher to the horror on the other side of her wall at the Hampton Village Apartments.
Youngsville Police say it was Whaley, Hopkins' ex-boyfriend and the father of her 1-year old child Desaree, firing the gun -- shooting Hopkins in the leg and stomach.
"When I looked, the guy was dragging his girlfriend down the stairs," the neighbor says. "And now when I looked outside there is blood coming from their apartment outside."
That's when Hopkins got loose in a desperate attempt to escape.
"She was trying to get away. She was dragged down the stairs and trying to get away," said Youngsville Police Chief Daren Kirts. "And she wrecked (her car) down there."
Shot and wounded, Hopkins crashed head-on into a tree just down the road.
Read more: Authorities say 1-year-old kidnapped by her father found safe.
It's then police say Whaley grabbed little Desaree and took off.
An Amber Alert was soon issued. And an anonymous tip led cops to Whaley in a traffic stop in Wake Forest. The little girl found unharmed.
But Whaley had no business at his ex's apartment that night.
Hopkins had a domestic violence order against him in place, the second restraining order in two years. In fact, Whaley was arrested in November for violating the order.
His own sister, Natasha Whaley, took out a restraining order against him in 2015 after she said he attacked her.
Hopkins told a judge, she found Whaley "hiding in a closet" at home, a year ago. And that he then kidnapped her while she was pregnant.
She called him a "ticking time bomb" and "evil like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
The terror in the court records played out in public last Friday night.
"When I heard the shots, me and my daughter got down," said Hopkins' neighbor. "But when I peeked out he was dragging her and we went back and ran back in the room."
Desiree Hopkins spent the weekend at WakeMed intensive care. She is still recovering there, according to family.
Little Desaree is being cared for by her grandparents.
And, Devon Whaley is behind bars at the Franklin County Jail under an $870,000 bond.
Whaley is due back in court June 6.
ABC11's Heather Waliga contributed to this report.
