CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Charleston man accused of killing the mother of his 2-year-old son was charged at least 17 times in four years for often violent offenses tied to domestic battery, drugs, wanton endangerment, burglary and weapons.

Whenever police arrested Desmond Clark in the last year and a half, they called in the SWAT team to do so, said Sgt. S.A. Cooper, chief detective for Charleston police.

"He frequently came across as being unfazed any time he was arrested or facing serious charges," Cooper said. "He threatened to shoot police last year when he kidnapped his girlfriend."

Since 2004, Nalisha Fiona Gravely had said that Clark broke her nose, kicked her, dragged her by her hair, kidnapped her, choked her, stabbed her with a kitchen knife and grazed her in the leg with a bullet.

The most recent domestic battery charge stemmed from a May 17 incident, where Clark allegedly punched his ex-girlfriend in the stomach at a house on Red Oak Street in Charleston. A hearing in that case was set for July 14, according to magistrate court records.

Charleston police say Clark, 22, killed Gravely, 19, at a Taco Bell on Patrick Street on Charleston's West Side. Clark allegedly shot her while they were in a car together, after he abducted her from a North Charleston house around 2 p.m. Saturday.

Gravely ran inside the Taco Bell, where she asked to use a phone, and then jumped across the counter to hide in a closet. Police say Clark followed across the counter, found Gravely in the closet and shot her six times.

Clark was not supposed to have a gun for many reasons. He was a convicted felon after a plea to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He had also pleaded guilty to domestic battery, which also barred him from having a firearm.

Also, Kanawha Family Court Judge Mark Snyder issued a domestic violence protective order against Clark on May 28, eight days after Gravely filed a domestic violence petition against him.

According to Snyder's order, Clark was to have no contact with Gravely until Aug. 28, a few days after she would have turned 20.

Court records indicate that Clark filed a domestic violence petition against Gravely on Oct. 9, 2007, but a family court judge did not issue a final protective order.

On Jan. 22, Kanawha Circuit Judge James C. Stucky placed Clark on two years' probation. Clark had pleaded guilty to counts of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, battery and domestic battery.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed charges of breaking and entering, entering without breaking, brandishing and two other counts of domestic battery.

Stucky's order noted that Clark was "not likely again to commit crime and that the public good does not require that he be fined or imprisoned," which is stock language generally included every time a circuit judge places someone on probation.

At the time, Clark was recovering from a gunshot wound he received outside of the American Legion Bar on the West Side in December 2007.

Forty minutes after Clark was shot, 20-year-old Andrew Smoot was shot and killed in his East End home. Police said two of Clark's associates killed Smoot in retaliation for his shooting.

In the past two years, other drug and gun charges against Clark were dropped, according to magistrate court records. Those charges were dropped because police officers didn't show up at Clark's hearings.

Cooper said he doesn't know why the officers missed the court hearings.

Whenever police arrested Desmond Clark in the last year and a half, they called in the SWAT team to do so, said Sgt. S.A. Cooper, chief detective for Charleston police.

"He frequently came across as being unfazed any time he was arrested or facing serious charges," Cooper said. "He threatened to shoot police last year when he kidnapped his girlfriend."

Since 2004, Nalisha Fiona Gravely had said that Clark broke her nose, kicked her, dragged her by her hair, kidnapped her, choked her, stabbed her with a kitchen knife and grazed her in the leg with a bullet.

The most recent domestic battery charge stemmed from a May 17 incident, where Clark allegedly punched his ex-girlfriend in the stomach at a house on Red Oak Street in Charleston. A hearing in that case was set for July 14, according to magistrate court records.

Charleston police say Clark, 22, killed Gravely, 19, at a Taco Bell on Patrick Street on Charleston's West Side. Clark allegedly shot her while they were in a car together, after he abducted her from a North Charleston house around 2 p.m. Saturday.

Gravely ran inside the Taco Bell, where she asked to use a phone, and then jumped across the counter to hide in a closet. Police say Clark followed across the counter, found Gravely in the closet and shot her six times.

Clark was not supposed to have a gun for many reasons. He was a convicted felon after a plea to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He had also pleaded guilty to domestic battery, which also barred him from having a firearm.

Also, Kanawha Family Court Judge Mark Snyder issued a domestic violence protective order against Clark on May 28, eight days after Gravely filed a domestic violence petition against him.

According to Snyder's order, Clark was to have no contact with Gravely until Aug. 28, a few days after she would have turned 20.

Court records indicate that Clark filed a domestic violence petition against Gravely on Oct. 9, 2007, but a family court judge did not issue a final protective order.

On Jan. 22, Kanawha Circuit Judge James C. Stucky placed Clark on two years' probation. Clark had pleaded guilty to counts of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, battery and domestic battery.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed charges of breaking and entering, entering without breaking, brandishing and two other counts of domestic battery.

Stucky's order noted that Clark was "not likely again to commit crime and that the public good does not require that he be fined or imprisoned," which is stock language generally included every time a circuit judge places someone on probation.

At the time, Clark was recovering from a gunshot wound he received outside of the American Legion Bar on the West Side in December 2007.

Forty minutes after Clark was shot, 20-year-old Andrew Smoot was shot and killed in his East End home. Police said two of Clark's associates killed Smoot in retaliation for his shooting.

In the past two years, other drug and gun charges against Clark were dropped, according to magistrate court records. Those charges were dropped because police officers didn't show up at Clark's hearings.

Cooper said he doesn't know why the officers missed the court hearings.

"We have a pretty strict adherence to making court hearings, but they do get missed," he said. "I don't know if there is a reasonable explanation or not. We aggressively pursued him every time we dealt with him. ... It's possible the officer was on midnight shift and missed a 10 a.m. hearing."

Even if charges are dropped in magistrate court, prosecutors can still seek an indictment from a circuit court grand jury.

Clark was also arrested twice in January 2007. The first time, he choked Gravely during an argument, according to court records. He was charged with domestic battery and released on a personal recognizance bond.

Two weeks later, Clark allegedly forced Gravely out of her grandmother's home and into his car. The grandmother said Clark pushed her down, and said she saw Clark pull out a gun and shoot it into the air.

He was charged with two counts of wanton endangerment and two counts of burglary. In March 2007, he was placed on home confinement.

A few days later, he cut off his tracking bracelet. He was charged with escape.

In October 2007, Stucky removed Clark from home confinement after Clark's attorney, Rico Moore, argued that the electronic monitoring device was a financial burden on Clark's family and that Clark had an opportunity for employment and needed to support his 2-year-old son, according to court records.

Clark was to be employed as a security guard at Nappy by Nature on Washington Street West, according to a letter supporting the motion written by owner Tina Beatty.

Moore also argued that Clark wanted to attend classes, and that he had been on bond since July 2007 without incident.

Gravely and Clark began dating when she was 16 years old and he was 18.

"There's a lot of teenage girls out that that get infatuated with these young men and with the lifestyle," said the Rev. Lloyd Hill, pastor of Liberty Baptist Church on the East End. "They are in it for love, and unfortunately these young men aren't in it for that. They get trapped."

Hill said he is certain there are a lot of young women in similar situations.

"I would just encourage these young ladies to tell someone. Let someone know," he said. "This is an example of how extreme it can get if you don't."

Men who commit violent crimes against women manipulate those women, Cooper said. Women often don't show up for court dates after husbands or boyfriends beat them up. That happened in this case, Cooper said.

Detectives followed through with the domestic violence cases against Clark and were aggressive in pursuing charges against him, Cooper said.

"She was a young girl that appears to have been manipulated and intimidated by this individual, which makes prosecution extremely difficult," Cooper said. "We can make an arrest very easily if we have probable cause. ... At the end of the day, when all of his constitutional rights had to be met in a court of law, some of the pieces just weren't there.

"In my dealings with him, he has always seemed to feel he is above the law, as if police presence and occasions where police arrested him didn't really faze him," Cooper said. "In my position, I deal with the most violent offenders in the area. And some seem [undeterred] at times as far as committing violence. He has struck me as one of those individuals."

Staff writer Andrew Clevenger contributed to this report. Reach Gary A. Harki at gha...@wvgazette.com or 348-5163. Reach Davin White at davinwh...@wvgazette.com or 348-1254.