Polson man charged with soliciting murder

POLSON – Lake County Sheriff’s deputies used some clues from unusual but well-known sources to arrest a Polson man for allegedly trying to hire a prison gang member to kill his ex-girlfriend so she couldn’t testify against him in a rape trial.

Accused rapist Dennis Jay Hobbs is held on $5 million bail in Lake County jail here and was expected to plead not guilty Wednesday at his arraignment in District Court.

Hobbs, 56, of Polson, was charged with raping and stalking his ex-girlfriend in August 2013 when he allegedly followed his ex-girlfriend to a Polson home she cleaned then raped her there, prosecutors believe.

Prosecutors charged him with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent and assault with a weapon.

Prosecutors said, after the restraining order was issued, Hobbs allegedly stalked the victim, made hang-up phone calls, sent her flowers and tried to hack her Facebook accounts, according to court documents.

After an investigation made for a crime novel, Lake County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Hobbs at his residence Friday on Melita Island Road north of Polson, said Lake County Undersheriff Dan Yonkin.

District Court Judge Kim Christopher issued a warrant with bail set at $5 million on Friday, prosecutor Mitch Young said. He appeared briefly Monday via a video feed from the jail, Young said.

Hobbs is charged with three felonies - solicitation to deliberate homicide, stalking, and tampering with witnesses and informants.

Hobbs has a history of criminal behavior in Idaho dating back to 1977 - including second degree kidnapping and domestic violence, according to Idaho court records.

Lake County Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Cole-Hodgkinson believes Hobbs wanted the victim killed to prevent her from testifying in his rape case.

Yonkin said the Sheriff’s office has been investigating the case since August 2013.

Monica Mitchell told Lake County Sheriff’s detectives that Hobbs asked her son, Wayne Kibler, to find someone to kill his ex-girlfriend, according to court records.

Monica Mitchell is former Ronan Police Chief John Mitchell’s sister.

Hobbs believed Kibler, a multiple felon, had contacts who were hired killers, according to court records.

Hobbs told Kibler payment for the murder would be a detailed map of a residence filled with guns and expensive items that the killer could steal, according to court records.

Investigators monitored and recorded two conversations between Kibler and Hobbs in April.

Monica Mitchell told investigators she saw Hobbs using her computer to monitor the Facebook activities of his ex-girlfriend and her daughter.

She said she was with Hobbs when he drove by his ex-girlfriend’s home to scare her, court records said.

Hobbs was sentenced to 15 years after pleading guilty to false imprisonment and aggravated battery in May 2005, according to Idaho court records.

Attempts to contact Hobbs’ Polson attorney in the rape case, Ben Anciaux, were unsuccessful.