Police arrested a man early Sunday they believe killed the mother of his child at a Taco Bell restaurant on Charleston's West Side.
Police arrested a man early Sunday they believe killed the mother of his child at a Taco Bell restaurant on Charleston's West Side.
Acting on an anonymous tip, Charleston police arrested Desmond Demetrius Clark, 22, of Charleston at a home on Woodland Drive, said Sgt. Aaron James, assistant chief of detectives.
Officers said Clark killed Nalisha Fiona Gravely, 20, after abducting her from North Charleston at about 2 p.m. Saturday. Clark shot Gravely while they were in the vehicle together, James said.
Gravely escaped from Clark's vehicle on Patrick Street and ran inside the restaurant, where she asked to use a phone and then hid in a closet behind the counter.
"She said, 'He's going to kill me.' She knew," said a Taco Bell employee, who asked not to be named.
The employee said a man entered the restaurant and jumped across the counter. The man said, "The bitch has my money," then fired six shots, he said. The employee said the man showed no remorse as he shot Gravely.
"He just rolled out like nothing happened. Like it was nothing. It was like she was just some stranger, like she was just some dog," the employee said. "Nobody deserves to die that way."
The employee said he tried to give Gravely CPR, but she was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Before they found Clark at about 12:40 a.m. Sunday, police surrounded several houses near the intersection of 7th Avenue and Florida Street near the Emmanuel Baptist Church on the West Side on Saturday. They believed Clark was inside. Police found Clark's maroon Chevrolet Tahoe nearby.
A large crowd gathered as SWAT team members raided three houses at about 6 p.m., including a pale green house where police believed Clark was holed up. They did not find Clark inside, and continued to search for him.
At least seven times in the past four years, Clark has been accused of shooting, stabbing, beating or kidnapping Gravely, according to court records.
Several times, he failed to show for court hearings, and once he escaped from home confinement. Apparently, he has served very little time in jail related to these charges.
Gravely's father watched from nearby as police raided a house in search of his daughter's boyfriend. He said he couldn't understand why Clark was free, after so many years of violence.
"I never knew he was going to take my daughter and kill her," said Ricky Gravely. "It could have been prevented if he'd been arrested a long time ago. For some reason, he just kept working the system."
Ricky Gravely was baby-sitting the couple's 2-year-old when he last spoke with his daughter, an hour before Clark allegedly abducted her.
"She said everything's all right, but you could tell in her voice, it wasn't," he said.
Ricky Gravely also spoke with Clark several hours earlier. He said Clark told him he had been caught with marijuana in Dunbar and feared he was going to jail.
Gravely and Clark began dating when she was 16 years old and he was 18. They had been together over the past five years, despite the reported incidents of domestic violence.
In September 2004, Gravely accused Clark of domestic battery. He was arrested in November 2004, but it's not clear whether he served any time related to that charge.
In February 2005, Gravely accused Clark of breaking her nose. Charges were dismissed when an officer failed to show up at a hearing.
Police arrested a man early Sunday they believe killed the mother of his child at a Taco Bell restaurant on Charleston's West Side.
Acting on an anonymous tip, Charleston police arrested Desmond Demetrius Clark, 22, of Charleston at a home on Woodland Drive, said Sgt. Aaron James, assistant chief of detectives.
Officers said Clark killed Nalisha Fiona Gravely, 20, after abducting her from North Charleston at about 2 p.m. Saturday. Clark shot Gravely while they were in the vehicle together, James said.
Gravely escaped from Clark's vehicle on Patrick Street and ran inside the restaurant, where she asked to use a phone and then hid in a closet behind the counter.
"She said, 'He's going to kill me.' She knew," said a Taco Bell employee, who asked not to be named.
The employee said a man entered the restaurant and jumped across the counter. The man said, "The bitch has my money," then fired six shots, he said. The employee said the man showed no remorse as he shot Gravely.
"He just rolled out like nothing happened. Like it was nothing. It was like she was just some stranger, like she was just some dog," the employee said. "Nobody deserves to die that way."
The employee said he tried to give Gravely CPR, but she was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Before they found Clark at about 12:40 a.m. Sunday, police surrounded several houses near the intersection of 7th Avenue and Florida Street near the Emmanuel Baptist Church on the West Side on Saturday. They believed Clark was inside. Police found Clark's maroon Chevrolet Tahoe nearby.
A large crowd gathered as SWAT team members raided three houses at about 6 p.m., including a pale green house where police believed Clark was holed up. They did not find Clark inside, and continued to search for him.
At least seven times in the past four years, Clark has been accused of shooting, stabbing, beating or kidnapping Gravely, according to court records.
Several times, he failed to show for court hearings, and once he escaped from home confinement. Apparently, he has served very little time in jail related to these charges.
Gravely's father watched from nearby as police raided a house in search of his daughter's boyfriend. He said he couldn't understand why Clark was free, after so many years of violence.
"I never knew he was going to take my daughter and kill her," said Ricky Gravely. "It could have been prevented if he'd been arrested a long time ago. For some reason, he just kept working the system."
Ricky Gravely was baby-sitting the couple's 2-year-old when he last spoke with his daughter, an hour before Clark allegedly abducted her.
"She said everything's all right, but you could tell in her voice, it wasn't," he said.
Ricky Gravely also spoke with Clark several hours earlier. He said Clark told him he had been caught with marijuana in Dunbar and feared he was going to jail.
Gravely and Clark began dating when she was 16 years old and he was 18. They had been together over the past five years, despite the reported incidents of domestic violence.
In September 2004, Gravely accused Clark of domestic battery. He was arrested in November 2004, but it's not clear whether he served any time related to that charge.
In February 2005, Gravely accused Clark of breaking her nose. Charges were dismissed when an officer failed to show up at a hearing.
In October 2005, Gravely told police that Clark kicked her, dragged her by the hair and shoved her into a vehicle. He was charged with kidnapping, domestic battery and battery. The last two charges were dismissed. The kidnapping charge was waived to circuit court, but there is no record he was indicted.
On Jan. 10, 2007, Gravely told police that Clark choked her and pulled her out of her car on Park Avenue on the West Side. Police could not find Clark.
On Jan. 24, 2007, Clark allegedly found Gravely at a relative's house and forced his way in. When she refused to go with him, he fired a shot into the air, she said. He was charged with wanton endangerment and battery.
In early March 2007, he was placed on home confinement. A few days later, though, he cut off his tracking bracelet.
On April 8, 2007, according to a police report, Clark allegedly stabbed Gravely with a kitchen knife after they left a dance club together and returned to her apartment on West Washington Street. She stumbled to Washington Street and flagged down an officer, according to the police report. She was covered in blood. Clark eluded police again.
On May 9, 2007, Clark allegedly approached Gravely at the South Charleston Wal-Mart with his hands in his pockets. Gravely said she believed he had a gun. He allegedly grabbed her and pushed her into a car.
Gravely told police that Clark took out a gun and shot her, grazing her leg. He spent several hours driving around, talking about their relationship.
Clark said he didn't care if he lived or died, and that he would shoot police if they tried to apprehend him, according to her statement.
Later, Clark switched cars, and she escaped.
Clark was arrested June 28, 2007, on one felony charge of unlawful malicious wounding and a misdemeanor charge of violating a home-confinement order. A hearing was scheduled for July 6, 2007. It is unclear what sentence Clark received.
A few months later, Clark was the victim of violence instead of the alleged perpetrator.
On Dec. 8, Clark was shot in front of the American Legion on the West Side. Forty minutes later, another man, Andrew Smoot, 20, was shot and killed in his East End home - police say by two of Clark's associates in retaliation for his shooting.
At the time of this shooting, Clark had no outstanding warrants against him that police know about, according to Sgt. Aaron James of the Charleston Police.
Sue Julian said the news of Gravely's death struck her in the "heart and the stomach on this weekend when we are celebrating Independence Day."
Julian is a team coordinator of the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "Over and over again," she said, "unless batterers are held accountable by court officials the first time something happens, even if it does not look significant at the time, these situations build into a relentlessness."
Julian has worked to prevent domestic violence for more than 25 years. "As we know, the ultimate form of control is homicide."
Ricky Gravely said he hopes his daughter's death will cause police to pay more attention to domestic violence.
"What can we do, besides bury our daughter and mourn her?" he said. "She was a very likable person, a happy person, but he was just her first love."
Staff writers Veronica Nett, Susan Williams, Scott Finn and Jim Balow contributed to this story. Reach Kellen Henry at khe...@wvgazette.com or 348-5179.
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