Milton man found not guilty of murder after testifying he shot in self defense
An Escambia County jury found a Milton man charged with murder not guilty after he took the stand on the final day of his trial Friday and said the shooting was an act of self defense.
Jonathon Hobbs was charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the Feb. 1, 2021, shooting death of 36-year-old Danny Blackmon Jr.
Hobbs is friends with a woman named Dawn Sluder, and Blackmon was dating Sluder's daughter, Crystal Hassell.
The original story given to deputies in 2021 is that Hobbs confronted Blackmon and shot him three times.
Hobbs was alleged to have "fired several shots at Blackmon while standing only a few feet from him," according to Hassell's statement in the arrest report.
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The arrest report claimed that "Hobbs then walked up next to Blackmon, looked back at (Hassell), then leaned over Blackmon's body and fired at least two more rounds."
However, Hobbs gave a much different account of events from the witness stand Friday, saying it was Blackmon who initiated the confrontation.
Hobbs said he and Sluder "were just going to check on" Hassell at the time of the shooting, but that Blackmon had walked up and threatened to kill him.
"He took three steps coming at me, pulling something out of his pocket ... and it was a black object," Hobbs said.
"I raised my gun and I blacked out, I believe I was in shock, and I just shot," Hobbs continued. "That's all I did."
During closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney Amy Shea told the jury that she proved beyond a reasonable doubt Hobbs planned to kill Blackmon by playing a call Hobbs made to his grandmother.
In the recording, Hobbs’ grandmother asked, "Jonathon, was it at least self defense?”
Hobbs simply responded, "Mhm."
Shea said that was not the response of a person acting in self defense.
The prosecutor said applying common sense to the facts of the case, there was no other choice but to find Hobbs guilty.
“(Hobbs’) own admission to his grandmother is the best evidence,” Shea told the jury. “I submit to you that the defendant has committed premeditated murder and you should convict him as charged.”
However, Hobbs’ defense attorney, Randall Etheridge, argued that conflicting evidence, and a lack of evidence, presented at the trial was enough for the jury to find reasonable doubt in the case.
Hobbs testified he fled the scene after the shooting, knocked on someone’s door to call his girlfriend and waited for the cops toarrest him.
“All the prosecution has is sympathy from (Hassell) and gore,” Etheridge told the jury. “Who in their right mind would premeditate a murder and then call the cops?”
He continued, “Who in the world does that? We’re gonna lay an ambush, we’re gonna lay down here and wait for you to come and we’re gonna shoot you? That is ridiculous."
The jury deliberated late into Friday night before ultimately returning the not guilty verdict.
Benjamin Johnson can be reached at bjohnson@pnj.com or 850-435-8578.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Jury finds Jonathon Hobbs not guilty of Pensacola premeditated murder
