AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin mother is outraged after a man who shot her and her daughters received a plea deal and a 12-year prison sentence.
She said that punishment is nowhere near enough, and she and her daughters are worried about what could happen when the convicted felon is up for parole.
Twenty-eight shots were fired at Melinda Hipolito's car in 2021. Bullets hit her and her two daughters.
"You just heard metal and tons of glass was flying from every direction. So, I initially thought that he or someone was throwing rocks at my car," Hipolito said.
Hipolito said she was checking on her sister after she had gotten into a dispute with her boyfriend. The suspect, Devon Loper, has a long criminal history.
"He's a felon. He's not supposed to have a gun. He had a gun," Hipolito said. "He jumped out of his car. He reloaded a clip into his gun and emptied a second clip into the driver's seat."
In this case, Loper accepted a plea deal on an aggravated assault charge, receiving a 12-year sentence with the possibility of parole after six.
Hipolito's daughters, Mila and Scarlett, were there the day of the shooting.
"Right now, I am just remembering the past and there is a lot of trauma happening," Scarlett said.
Scarlett was shot through the back of her legs. Mila was shot in the head. She said the shock was so great, she couldn't fully feel it at first. Her mother was working to keep her conscious.
"Her eyes are rolling in the back of her head," Hipolito said.
"She said, 'Say your ABCs,' to distract us. We followed along. I tried my best," Mila said.
Hipolito said now she feels betrayed, saying Loper's sentence is nowhere near enough.
"Instead of us being the victims, they were like, 'You went to a domestic violence situation. This is your fault. You should have known better, regardless if they've just been arguing or whatever. You took your kids with you, and that's just a no-no,'" Hipolito said.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza's office told KVUE, "We are sorry that the victims in this case had to be victims at all. Our office's prosecutors carefully evaluated this case, and we believe that while the 12-year prison sentence the defendant received will never make the victims whole, it is a step forward. This sentence was more than twice the average for these charges in the past two administrations at the DA's office."
But Scarlett and Mila worry about when Loper could be released.
"I feel like we're not safe, and sometimes I wonder if he gets paroled and decides to get out and he might come back for us," Scarlett said.