- James Benny Hobbs, 59, accused of sexual battery on a child, was shot dead
- Hobbs fled Stratham after officials issued a warrant for his arrest
- Two of the three officers who fired shots were members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the third was sheriff’s Deputy M. Toubali
- In 2006 Hobbs admitted he stole more than $1 million from clients
- He was sentenced to 10 to 20 years, it is unclear when he was released on parole
James Benny Hobbs, 59, accused of sexual battery on a child was shot and killed during a confrontation with a fugitive task force at the motel Howard Johnson in eastern Florida Tuesday
A man accused of sexual battery on a child was shot and killed during a confrontation with a fugitive task force at the motel Howard Johnson in eastern Florida Tuesday.
James Benny Hobbs, 59, opened the door to his room at a Howard Johnson motel in St. Augustine and made ‘several sudden moves’ that caused three officers to fatally shoot him, Chuck Mulligan, St. Johns County Sheriff’s spokesman, said.
Deputies say Hobbs fled Stratham after officials issued a warrant for his arrest for aggravated felonious sexual assault on a child under the age of 15 in New Hampshire.
The warning about Hobbs being a child sex fugitive was published in the Concord Patch newspaper on January 31.
Two of the officers who fired shots were members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and the other was sheriff’s Deputy M. Toubali, who has been an officer for nearly four years, Boston 25 News reported.
Mulligan said it was Toubali’s first officer-involved shooting. He did not identify the undercover marshals.
Hobbs was pronounced dead at the scene.
Apparently Hobbs fled to Florida when he heard that an arrest warrant had been issued for him.
The warning about Hobbs being a child sex fugitive was published in the Concord Patch newspaper on January 31
The fugitive task force shot Hobbs at the motel Howard Johnson in eastern Florida Tuesday (pictured above)
U.S. Marshals said he was easy to track down as he was driving a 2006 white 4-door Mercedes C280 with New Hampshire number plates.
In 2006 Hobbs admitted he stole more than $1 million from several clients when he was working as a lawyer The Nashua Telegraph reported.
He stole about half of it from the estate of a Nashua woman and slightly more than half from the estate of a former attorney who’d intended his savings to care for his disabled daughter.
He was subsequently sentenced to a term of 10 to 20 years, however it is unclear when he was released on parole.