Robert Louis Singletary, wanted in shooting of NC family, was arrested for alleged sledgehammer assault
The man accused of shooting a North Carolina 6-year-old and her parents after a basketball rolled into his yard was previously arrested for allegedly attacking his girlfriend with a mini-sledgehammer.
Robert Louis Singletary, 24 — who remains on the run after shooting Kinsley White and her parents, Ashley Hilderbrand and William White, on Tuesday — had a previous run-in with the law for a domestic violence case in December.
Gastonia police said they received a call from a 21-year-old woman who accused Singletary of striking her in the back of the head with a mini-sledgehammer inside his apartment on Dec. 2.
The victim, whose identity was not publicly released, said she became disoriented after the brutal blow, which left her bleeding profusely from the head.
She claimed Singletary refused to let her leave the apartment for two hours, demanding that she first clean up all the evidence from the alleged assault.
After cleaning up the mess, she said, she was allowed to go and immediately drove to the hospital and called 911.
Singletary was arrested on Dec. 7 and charged with assault with intent to inflict serious injury, kidnapping, and communicating threats.
Although police records state that he was being held on a $250,000 secured bond, it remains unclear if and when he posted bail.
Police said they were able to collect evidence of the assault from his apartment, including the mini-sledgehammer he allegedly used to strike the victim.
The Gaston County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on this case.
Singletary had also been arrested for an assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury charge on Halloween 2016, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
He was convicted in neighboring Mecklenburg County the following year and released from prison on September 15, 2020.
Police were searching for Singletary as of Thursday afternoon after he allegedly fired at a group of kids playing basketball in his neighborhood, including Kinsley, who was struck by a bullet fragment on her cheek.
Her father, William White, who covered her, was also hit and hospitalized, police said.
Singletary has been charged with four counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, Gaston County police said.
The department is seeking the public’s help in locating and arresting the fugitive, offering a $1,000 reward.
