Devin Strader was arrested years before he appeared on Jenn Tran's season of The Bachelorette after he allegedly burglarized his ex-girlfriend and violated a restraining order the woman had against him.
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According to legal documents obtained by People, the woman whose home was broken into also subsequently filed a restraining order against Devin, who allegedly verbally and physically abused her in the past.
In a burglary arrest affidavit the Baton Rouge Police Department prepared, Devin's ex-girlfriend -- who was not identified by name in the papers -- told a police officer that Devin had broken into her home and stolen a diamond necklace while she was out of town in March 2017.
The woman contacted the police once she returned home from her trip, and she said that the diamond necklace was a piece of jewelry Devin had given her while they were still dating.
The Bachelorette alum's ex-girlfriend told officials in her statement that she and Devin had recently split but he still lived two doors down from her.
Despite their close proximity to each other, the woman claimed Devin never had a key or "unaccompanied access" to her apartment when they were together or post-split.
According to a statement the woman -- who also subsequently filed a restraining order against Devin -- gave police, Devin had also "come to her house banging on the door several times and screaming at her."
Devin's ex-girlfriend reportedly filed for Devin to be held in contempt for violating the restraining order against "numerous" times.
Devin also allegedly even taunted his ex-girlfriend by burning a copy of the restraining order outside her home after it was issued.
"Later that evening, [Devin] made a fire out in the street with what appeared to be the actual restraining order," she alleged in an affidavit.
"She also had a tire flattened in her vehicle and when it was getting changed, [Devin] came outside and began laughing at her."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWDevin was reportedly subsequently arrested on burglary charges, and he ultimately pleaded guilty to charges of criminal trespass and simple criminal damage to property of less than $500.
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Devin was ordered to pay $500 and complete 30 hours of community service. He was also required to attend the Court's Effective Decision-Making School and be on unsupervised probation for one year, People reported.
Entertainment Weekly obtained a copy of the restraining order petition filed against Devin in which the woman had detailed some of the alleged abuse in her own handwriting.
The woman wrote in the filing that Devin "spit on me and threw his drink on me at Pelicans game in front of everyone in the crowd," and "put me in a chokehold covering my mouth."
For every season of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, producers run background checks and vet the contestants; however, Devin's record clearly slipped through the cracks somehow.
"We take the safety of our contestants very seriously," a source close to production told EW, "and make every effort to conduct thorough diligence."
The source added, "As exhaustive as our vetting process is, this protective order did not surface in our searches."
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Devin was already in boiling water with The Bachelorette fans for how he had treated Jenn following their May 2024 engagement in Hawaii.
After filming Jenn's marriage proposal at the Final Rose Ceremony, Jenn said she and Devin had a tumultuous two-month relationship -- in which Jenn claimed Devin never prioritized her and slowly ghosted her -- until Devin broke up with her in a brief phone call in early August.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
On the September 3 The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose special, Jenn announced that Devin's behavior before and after their split was devastating, especially when he had followed The Bachelor alum Maria Georgas and allegedly sent multiple women DMs on Instagram.
Jenn claimed on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast that there were early red flags with Devin that she had unfortunately ignored.
On After the Final Rose, Devin didn't explain why exactly he had fallen out of love with Jenn and broken up with her, except for saying that he "fell short" of her expectations for him in the real world.
"I found myself not being able to live up to the things that you need and deserve," Devin acknowledged during the finale broadcast.
Devin said he watched Jenn grow leaps and bounds on the show, only to contribute to her "recession" because she was willing to compromise herself and make sacrifices to save their relationship.
Devin's callous and dismissive attitude towards Jenn, who was totally heartbroken, on the live finale left most The Bachelorette viewers furious and disgusted by Devin's actions.
Devin therefore posted a 13-minute video on September 10 via Instagram that included dozens of screenshots of what appeared to be private texts with Jenn before and after their breakup.
Devin was trying to share his "truth" and refute "false narratives" about him, claiming he had been very "present" in his relationship with Jenn and never ghosted her or refused to do couples counseling.
Devin issued a couple of apologies in his video, but he also claimed that Jenn should be held accountable for her mistakes and faults in the relationship as well.
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Jenn, however, has a nice distraction coming up when she competes on Dancing with the Stars' 33rd season with pro partner Sasha Farber, which premieres Tuesday, September 17 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
