Neighbors mystified over why man was killed by state trooper

Jeff Hobbs' neighbors are befuddled as they try to piece together the events Friday night that led to a man they liked being shot and killed by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper.

"I just can't see it at all," Pam Wilson said. "I don't know why he would shoot him."

Wilson said Hobbs, 48, of Neelys Landing was over at her trailer -- situated across the street from his own -- all day Friday. He helped her move items out of the trailer. She said he had not been drinking alcohol that day. She asked, because she allowed him to use her truck. She said he seemed happy and smiling.

Wilson said Hobbs was a frequent drinker. A clerk at the Lil' Country Store said she saw Hobbs tipsy quite often in the convenience store.

Hobbs left Wilson's trailer about 6 p.m. Friday to go to the store. He was stopped by the trooper about 6:25 p.m. near the Lil' Country Store.

Members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Department work the scene of an officer-involved shooting Friday on Highway 177 near the Lil' Country Store in Jackson.Glenn Landberg

"If he wanted to run, why would he pull over?" Wilson said.

The Highway Patrol's initial account issued to the public by a news release stated Hobbs pulled his vehicle to the side of the road and got out of the vehicle.

In a news release from Saturday, Highway Patrol Sgt. Clark Parrott wrote Hobbs' vehicle was swerving from side to side, prompting the traffic stop.

Parrott said the act of getting out of the vehicle is out of the ordinary and could be deemed as suspicious behavior. The news release states Hobbs acted suspicious after he exited the vehicle, but Parrott would not clarify what "acting in a suspicious manner" meant.

Wilson's theory is her neighbor left his vehicle in an attempt to talk his way out of a traffic ticket. She said Hobbs could talk a person's ear off.

With the trooper and Hobbs out of their vehicles, the trooper placed one handcuff on Hobbs, according to the news release. Hobbs began to fight the trooper, hitting the trooper with the open side of the handcuff, according to the news release. Parrott said this detail came from the trooper, who sustained lacerations to his face.

Wilson said such an action would be out of character.

"Jeff was not a hardened criminal," Wilson said.

Wilson and fellow neighbor Danny Blair acknowledged Hobbs had been arrested before.

On April 4, Hobbs pleaded guilty to misdemeanor unlawful use of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to a $200 fine.

Hobbs pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor animal abuse in August 2011, receiving five years of supervised probation for the first charge and 90 days in jail with two years of unsupervised probation for the second.

In 1997, Hobbs pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and was sentenced to 730 days of supervised probation.

According to the Highway Patrol news release, Hobbs dragged the trooper to his vehicle. Once inside, Hobbs drove away, dragging the trooper beside the car. The news release is not clear on how the trooper was dragged to the car or how he was dragged once the vehicle began moving.

Wilson said Hobbs weighed about 150 pounds, and it would be unlikely he would be able to overpower a trained law-enforcement officer.

At one point, the trooper reached into the car and turn off the ignition, according to the news release. Hobbs then restarted the car and continued to drag the trooper.

The trooper said he warned Hobbs if he didn't stop, he would shoot him, according to the release. Hobbs ignored his commands, and the trooper fired two rounds from his weapon, striking Hobbs and wounding him fatally. The statement from state police did not indicate where on his body Hobbs was shot.

The trooper and other officers tried to give first aid to Hobbs, according to the news release.

"Why would you put your life at risk to stop somebody?" Blair said. "It doesn't make sense. I think he was a gun-happy cop."

Parrott said the Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control is investigating, which will include whether Hobbs was armed.

Parrott said the Highway Patrol has applied for a search warrant for Hobbs vehicle, which was towed from the scene. The Division of Drug and Crime Control is the Highway Patrol's main investigative unit.

Parrott said the trooper was interviewed, and the investigators have talked to potential witnesses about the incident.

At least part of the incident was captured on a dash camera mounted on the trooper's vehicle, Parrott said. It is not yet clear whether the dash camera footage will be released to the public. The Highway Patrol has a policy to not release the name of a trooper involved a shooting, Parrott said.

The Highway Patrol will submit a report to the Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney's office, which will determine whether charges will be filed.

A Highway Patrol representative said troopers do not carry Tasers.

Hobbs' funeral is scheduled for 7 p.m. today.

bkleine@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address: 260 Lindsey Lane