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Wanted N.H. man is dead in Florida

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. – The former Nashua attorney wanted on a warrant charging him with raping a child is dead after Florida police shot him at a Howard Johnson’s hotel.

Commander Chuck Mulligan with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said James Benny Hobbs, 59, AKA The Whip, died from his injuries after being shot by three law enforcement officers, two with the U.S. Marshal’s Office and one St. John’s Sheriff’s deputy. The marshals are not being named, but Mulligan identified Deputy M. Toubaili as the St. Johns officer who fired on Hobbs. St. Johns County is part of the Jacksonville Metropolitan Area.

It’s not clear yet what lead up to the shooting, Mulligan said, as that investigation still is ongoing. Hobbs reportedly made several quick movements that resulted in the three officers simultaneously pulling their weapons and firing, he said.

“They all apparently perceived it as a threat,” Mulligan said.

Federal marshals with the Fugitive Task Force contacted St. Johns Sheriff personnel on Tuesday with information that Hobbs was in the St. Augustine area.