Source : Perth Now news
A man who drove his ute at police officers and rammed a local station has been found dead days after being denied bail.
Donny Hobbs, 67, had been accused of aiming his vehicle at officers, fleeing when they tried to stop him and ploughing through the front door of Mudgee Police Station, in NSW’s central west, after a pursuit on Friday afternoon.
He was denied bail after a court heard he held animosity towards Detective Senior Constable Scott Whale, a 40-year veteran officer who was celebrating his retirement the day the incident occurred.
After Hobbs attended the station and was asked to leave, he allegedly replied: “I’ll be back when I drive through the place.”
Just four days after his bail bid failed, the 67-year-old was found dead at a jail in Bathurst.
Corrective Services NSW, who confirmed the death, said both they and NSW Police will investigate the incident.
“Any death in custody is immediately reported to the NSW Coroner and subject to a compulsory, rigorous public inquiry,” a Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman told AAP.
At his bail hearing, Hobbs told the court he was healthy and not on any medication, while also noting he still milked cows and worked with horses.
After being asked to leave the police station during Friday’s incident, Hobbs was accused of driving at officers and fleeing when they tried to arrest him in the town’s CBD, before crashing through the station’s door.
No one was injured in either incident.
Police said the car made contact with the front door, narrowly missing a member of the public inside the station.
The court heard Hobbs was accused of targeting Det Sen Const Whale, who was not one of the officers driven at and was not involved in the arrest.
Hobbs was charged with damaging property with intent to endanger life, two counts of using an offensive weapon, not stopping in a police pursuit, reckless driving and having a knife in a public place.
The local commanding officer would not confirm suggestions Hobbs was a sovereign citizen.
