TRAVIS COUNTY, TX - CBS Austin spoke with the mother of a local family who expressed her outrage after the man who shot at her and her family received a plea deal from the District Attorney's Office.
The mother, Melinda Hipolito and her daughter, Scarlett, told the news station how their lives were changed forever by a violent criminal who was afforded a plea deal instead of going to trial for the crime he committed.
As she recounted the horrific incident that happened in February of 2021, the mother said, "We're hearing boom, boom, boom. A bunch of metal and glass is shattering from every direction at us." Her and her two daughters had survived a shooting.
Melinda said, "He emptied a clip and he stopped three feet in front of my car. He got out and reloaded and emptied a second clip into the driver's side of my car."
The suspect, then 21-year-old Devon Loper, fired off 28 shots at her car while she and her children were inside. Melinda said she was helping out a family member in north Austin. She said, "My daughter, she was shot in the forehead. It took all of her forehead. And my other daughter was shot in the back of both legs."
The mother was shot in her shoulder and collar bone. In the moments during the shooting, Scarlett said that she was worried about her baby sister. She said, "When she was gushing blood, I told her, 'Don't worry. Are you there? Stay with me.' And it was hard because I was scared of losing my sister."
Two years later, in February 2023, Loper was given a 12-year plea deal with the Travis County District Attorney's Office. According to court documents, Loper would be eligible for parole after serving half that sentence. After learning of the plea deal, Melinda was devasted.
She said, "To sign a plea deal with the person who shot me and my children and pretty much gave him a slap on the wrist for harming us and almost killing us, they spit in my face. Me and my children's face." CBS Austin requested an interview with the District Attorney's Office, but was denied.
They did, however, provide a statement, which said, "We are sorry that the victims in this case had to be victims at all. Prosecutors in our office carefully evaluated this case and we believe that while the 12-year prison sentence the defendant received will never make the victim whole, it is a step forward. Over two administrations at the DA's office, this sentence was more than twice the average for these charges."
The statement added, "We looked into the amount of plea deals given in Travis County for certain violent crime cases from January first of this year through October."
According to CBS Austin, the numbers of plea deals from the Texas Office of Court Administration show that there have been seven pleas for capital murder; 39 plea deals for murder; 841 plea deals for aggravated assault or attempted murder; and 120 plea deals for indecency with or sexual assault of a child.
The data provided above excludes plea deals given for other violent crime categories. Scarlett said, "I don't think this monster deserves to literally exist. He doesn't deserve to do the things he's done to my family. I don't think he should ever do this to anyone."
Scarlett, who is 11 years old, feels that her family would feel more at peace if Loper received a longer sentence. She said, "I'm just scared. What if he will do this same thing again? But at the same time, I don't fear him because we survived and we thank God for doing that because he's the reason we survived."
Loper has a rap sheet that includes aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, drug possession, unlawful carry of a weapon, and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
The mother, Melinda Hipolito and her daughter, Scarlett, told the news station how their lives were changed forever by a violent criminal who was afforded a plea deal instead of going to trial for the crime he committed.
As she recounted the horrific incident that happened in February of 2021, the mother said, "We're hearing boom, boom, boom. A bunch of metal and glass is shattering from every direction at us." Her and her two daughters had survived a shooting.
Melinda said, "He emptied a clip and he stopped three feet in front of my car. He got out and reloaded and emptied a second clip into the driver's side of my car."
The suspect, then 21-year-old Devon Loper, fired off 28 shots at her car while she and her children were inside. Melinda said she was helping out a family member in north Austin. She said, "My daughter, she was shot in the forehead. It took all of her forehead. And my other daughter was shot in the back of both legs."
The mother was shot in her shoulder and collar bone. In the moments during the shooting, Scarlett said that she was worried about her baby sister. She said, "When she was gushing blood, I told her, 'Don't worry. Are you there? Stay with me.' And it was hard because I was scared of losing my sister."
Two years later, in February 2023, Loper was given a 12-year plea deal with the Travis County District Attorney's Office. According to court documents, Loper would be eligible for parole after serving half that sentence. After learning of the plea deal, Melinda was devasted.
She said, "To sign a plea deal with the person who shot me and my children and pretty much gave him a slap on the wrist for harming us and almost killing us, they spit in my face. Me and my children's face." CBS Austin requested an interview with the District Attorney's Office, but was denied.
They did, however, provide a statement, which said, "We are sorry that the victims in this case had to be victims at all. Prosecutors in our office carefully evaluated this case and we believe that while the 12-year prison sentence the defendant received will never make the victim whole, it is a step forward. Over two administrations at the DA's office, this sentence was more than twice the average for these charges."
The statement added, "We looked into the amount of plea deals given in Travis County for certain violent crime cases from January first of this year through October."
According to CBS Austin, the numbers of plea deals from the Texas Office of Court Administration show that there have been seven pleas for capital murder; 39 plea deals for murder; 841 plea deals for aggravated assault or attempted murder; and 120 plea deals for indecency with or sexual assault of a child.
The data provided above excludes plea deals given for other violent crime categories. Scarlett said, "I don't think this monster deserves to literally exist. He doesn't deserve to do the things he's done to my family. I don't think he should ever do this to anyone."
Scarlett, who is 11 years old, feels that her family would feel more at peace if Loper received a longer sentence. She said, "I'm just scared. What if he will do this same thing again? But at the same time, I don't fear him because we survived and we thank God for doing that because he's the reason we survived."
Loper has a rap sheet that includes aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, drug possession, unlawful carry of a weapon, and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
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Comments
2023-12-18T13:59-0600 | Comment by: Harry
From all indications, it sounds like the prosecuting attorney may be one of the many prosecutors who are funded by and tied to the George Soros efforts to undermine our Criminal Justice System !!! The defendant, with his criminal history, and the seriousness of the charges, should have, in my opinion, been LIFE without parole.
2023-12-18T19:13-0600 | Comment by: Pamela
This is an abuse of plea deals.