Cameron Ja’Michael Hopkins, inset, against an image of a red Chevy Camaro that was stopped by police in Georgia over the weekend. (Clayton County Police Department; screengrab via WAGA)
A Georgia man allegedly shot and killed his ex-girlfriend during a kidnapping and police chase over the weekend – while he was out on bond for allegedly kidnapping her exactly one year ago to the day.
Cameron Ja’Michael Hopkins, 20, stands accused of multiple crimes in multiple jurisdictions across the broader Atlanta metropolitan area.
In Fayetteville, he is charged with one count each of kidnapping, and aggravated assault, according to the Fayetteville Police Department. The Clayton County Police Department has charged the defendant with one count of malice murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.
His victim has been identified as Khaliyah Jones, 19.
Late Sunday night, multiple 911 calls came in regarding a man armed with a gun, who kidnapped a woman at a Wingstop on North Glynn Street, the FPD said in a press release. Witnesses told police the suspect drove off with the employee in a red Chevrolet Camaro.
Police pursued the Camaro out of Fayette County and into Clayton County. Going down McDonough Road, the car eventually turned into a driveway of Lovejoy High School; there, Fayetteville police said they “used the PIT maneuver to end the chase.” Such a maneuver entails another vehicle forcing the fleeing vehicle into an abrupt sideways turn so that the driver loses control – in effect: forcing a spin out.
“Police then reported hearing multiple gunshots coming from the suspect’s vehicle, including several that struck a police vehicle,” the FPD said in its press release. “The suspect exited his vehicle after Fayette County deputies deployed an OC-type irritant into the suspect’s vehicle, and police took him into custody.”
In a lengthier statement obtained by local NBC affiliate WXIA, the FPD alleged that Hopkins began shooting as soon as his car stopped and that officers took note of “several shots inside the vehicle and additional shots at officers striking their vehicle multiple times with officers still inside.”
“Officers were able to exit their vehicle and take cover while the suspect and victim remained inside the vehicle,” the longer statement continues. “Officers began giving commands for the suspect to exit the vehicle which were ignored. Deputies with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department were able to use a less-lethal option to deploy an ‘OC’ type irritant into the suspect’s vehicle from a safe distance. The suspect then exited the vehicle and was taken into custody by officers.”
Police said Jones was found inside the red Camaro with multiple fatal gunshot wounds.
A substantially similar version of events was relayed by the CCPD in a statement provided to Law&Crime.
“Fayette County attempted to end the vehicle pursuit utilizing a PIT maneuver, which subsequently caused Hopkins to fire upon law enforcement,” the second law enforcement agency said. “Hopkins then turned the gun on Jones, shooting and killing her. Hopkins surrendered to law enforcement officers and was taken into custody.”
The underlying incident began on Sunday, July 16.
On Saturday, July 16, 2022, Hopkins allegedly kidnapped Jones for the first time, according to the Lovejoy Police Department.
In that prior incident, he was accused of “dragging a female out of the vehicle at gunpoint” at a Walmart parking lot and “forcing her into his vehicle before fleeing the scene.” During the first kidnapping, Hopkins allegedly made contact with family members and “expressed his rage over the relationship ending and threatened to shoot and kill Ms. Jones if police attempted to pull him over.”
At the time of the victim’s death, the defendant was out on bond for charges of terroristic threats, kidnapping, criminal damage to property in the second degree, possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, and aggravated assault – all of which were related to the previous kidnapping incident, police said.
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