Coroner's Inquest Says Police Killed Dewey Hobbs in Line of Duty, Oct. 10, 1926

Mount Olive Officer Cleared in Death of Negro

That Chief of Police C. H. Griffin of Mount Olive acted in self defense and in discharge of his duty as an officer of the law in the death of Dewey Hobbs, colored, was the verdict brought in by a coroner’s jury empaneled yesterday afternoon. Stevens shot by Coroner F. R. Robinson yesterday (line obscured) afternoon and he died about 4:30. Coroner Robinson called an inquest a short time afterwards.

Chief Stevens and Officer Bowden had just arrested Leslie Troublefield, colored, on a whiskey charge, witnesses testified, and had started to bring the prisoner to the lockup. Hobbs and four or five other negroes were described as having followed them.

Chief Stevens was quoted as having told the crowd not to press too closely and having ordered Hobbs to take his hand out of his pocket. It was testified at the coroner’s inquest that Hobbs refused to do this, whereupon chief Stevens made an effort to search him.

Hobbs resisted the officer, it was d eclared, and they clinched. In the tussle that followed, Hobbs was shot three times, two bullets b??? his arm and another piercing his abdomen.

A knife which was identified as belonging to Hobbs was described as having fallen [next lines obscured].

The negroes had started following Chief Stevens and Officer D. E. Bowden when they had raided the home of Leslie Troublefield. A half gallon of whiskey had been seized by the officers in the raid.

Hobbs was declared to have borne a bad reputation. He came to Mount Olive from Duplin County a short time ago.

Witnesses testifying before Coroner Robinson and his jury were Officer Bowden, Leslie Troublefield and Mattie White. They told practically the same story.

Members of the jury were A. R. Pickett, S. L. Warren, F. F. Butts, D. G. Rhodes, J. R. Flowers and Tom McGee.

Editor’s Note: First line in the newspaper story identified the Chief of Police as C. H. Griffin and the rest of the story referred to him as Stevens.

From the front page of the Goldsboro News, Sunday morning, Oct. 10, 1926

newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn93064755/1926-10-10/ed-1/seq-1/