Man suspected in Gaston County shooting extradited from Florida; expected in court Tuesday

Ken Lemon
·3 min read

A man suspected in a Gaston County shooting has been extradited from Florida back to North Carolina and will make an appearance in court on Tuesday.

Robert Singletary is accused of shooting a father and hurting his 6-year-old daughter in Gaston County. Police said he headed to Tampa before turning himself in.

Just after 6:15 a.m. Sunday, the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office traveled to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Tampa, Florida to take Singletary into custody and extradite him back to North Carolina.

Shortly after 6 p.m., he was booked at the Gaston County Jail, where he will be held without bond.

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Singletary has been charged with four counts of first-degree attempted murder, two accounts of felonious assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill or inflict serious injuries, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, and one count of interference with an electric monitoring device.

He is expected to receive a first appearance Tuesday, May 2nd, at 9:30 a.m. in Gaston County Superior Court.

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Channel 9′s Ken Lemon spoke to child’s grandmother about the case.

The family said they will be in attendance the first time Robert Singletary faces a judge in Gaston County on his charges of attempted murder. But waiting for answers from the hearing Thursday, which was 8 hours and 511 miles away, was nerve-wracking for them.

Carolynn Hilderbrand wanted to be there Thursday to deliver a message to the judge.

“Please don’t let him loose,” she said. “Let him have the justice he deserves for everything he has done.”

She worries because in December, Singletary was in jail in Gaston County charged with a violent assault. He got an unsecured bond for that charge. Then last week, police said he pulled a gun and twice chased neighbors just off April Drive, shooting with children nearby.

A man accused of injuring a 6-year-old girl and her parents in a shooting in Gaston County turned himself into authorities in Tampa, Florida, authorities said.
A man accused of injuring a 6-year-old girl and her parents in a shooting in Gaston County turned himself into authorities in Tampa, Florida, authorities said.

The shooting happened in Hilderbrand’s front yard. One shot went through her son-in-law’s back, and fragments from that bullet went into her 6-year-old granddaughter’s cheek.

“It still goes through my mind a lot and it probably always will,” Hilderbrand said. “Probably never will forget that.”

No one was killed in the shooting, but Hilderbrand said things won’t ever be the same.

“I’ll probably never have no peace,” she said. “I’ll probably be looking over my shoulders.”

Police arrested Singletary in the Tampa Bay area after his family members begged him to turn himself in. Hilderbrand was happy to hear that Singletary’s hearing lasted just long enough to affirm a time for transport back to North Carolina.

“He needs to face what he done,” Hilderbrand said.

Gaston County police have until May 8 to arrange transport for Singletary. They are working on efforts get him back and in front of a judge here.

(PREVIOUS: Police look for gunman after double-shooting in Gaston County neighborhood)