Police video shows chase, arrest of man who allegedly kidnapped and killed ex

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - New bodycam and dashcam video from the Fayetteville Police Department shows how police arrested a man accused of kidnapping and killing his ex-girlfriend.

Late at night on July 16, 20-year-old Cameron Ja’Michael Hopkins allegedly took 18-year-old Khaliyah Jones from her job at WingStop at gunpoint. He reportedly forced her into his car, where she later died from several gunshot wounds.

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The first of several police videos shows an officer arrive at the WingStop on North Glynn Street. A woman who identifies as Jones’ boss meets the officer outside the restaurant, saying that Hopkins came into the establishment with three other men.

Jones pulled her boss aside when they entered, looking afraid, the boss said. The woman said she tried to stop him, but Hopkins pushed past her and walked up to Jones, who was screaming that he had a gun.

“I heard him cock the gun, grab her arm, and he walked her out with the gun at her side,” the boss said.

Other police were dispatched to track Jones’ red Chevrolet Camaro. A dashcam video shows an officer catch up to the Camaro and stop it with a PIT, or precision immobilization technique, maneuver.

After Jones’ car skids to a sideways halt, gunshots ring out, bursting through the Camaro’s window. Hopkins comes out of the vehicle more than ten minutes later with his hands raised. Police had sprayed an irritant into his car, and Hopkins can be seen wiping at his eyes.

Police force him to the ground and arrest him, the video shows. Once he’s in the patrol car, one officer washes his eyes out with water.

“Where is she?” Hopkins asks several times.

“She’s in the car where you left her,” an officer responds.

Clayton County police say Hopkins allegedly kidnapped Jones before — exactly one year ago to the day of her death. On July 17, 2022, Lovejoy police say Hopkins broke Jones’ car window and forced her into his car at gunpoint in a Walmart parking lot. He was reportedly angry that their relationship ended and threatened to kill Jones if police pulled him over.

Now, Hopkins faces charges of murder with malice, aggravated assault, aggravated assault on a police officer and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime. He was denied bond on July 18, and his preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 7.

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