Tulsa World: Tulsan burns himself to death

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Tulsan burns himself to death
The convicted sex offender sets himself afire as authorities attempt to serve him with a warrant.

SELF-IMMOLATION
Johnnie Joe Hobbs: He was in a cargo van at his home when he doused the vehicle with gasoline and ignited it. Hobbs died at the scene. A sheriff's captain said Hobbs had spent time in prison and indicated that he would do anything to avoid capture.

By MATT BARNARD and NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writers
Published: 10/23/2009 2:26 AM
Last Modified: 10/23/2009 4:55 AM

A convicted sex offender burned to death when he set himself on fire as authorities served a warrant at his rural Tulsa County home Thursday.

Tulsa County sheriff's deputies and state Pardon and Parole Board officers were sent to a house in the 14100 block of East Apache Street to contact Johnnie Joe Hobbs, 47, Capt. John Bowman said.

After finding the house empty, the squad peered into a cargo van that sat in the cluttered yard about 3 p.m. Hobbs, who was in the van, reached out and slammed the door shut, Bowman said.

He then doused the van with gasoline and ignited it, Bowman said. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Bowman said Hobbs had spent time in prison and had indicated that he would do anything to avoid capture.

"There are a lot of people that will do a lot of things to keep from going back to jail," he said. "To use a flammable liquid to ignite where they are, I have not seen that before."

Investigators from the Tulsa Fire Department searched through the charred van into the evening, working around piles of garbage that were scattered about the property on the northeastern edge of Tulsa County.

Bowman said that because of the volatile nature of the incident, firefighters didn't immediately enter the van to douse the flames. There were concerns that Hobbs might have been armed, but no weapons were found after a preliminary search.

About 30 minutes after Hobbs set the vehicle ablaze, authorities entered it and discovered his body in

the cab, Bowman said.

The deputies had intended to serve three protective orders on Hobbs, and the parole officers were sent to revoke his suspended sentence for a Muskogee County conviction, Bowman said.

A relative of Hobbs' gave officials a key to the house, and two of his siblings were in the area as the van burned, Bowman said.

Hobbs was the subject of protective orders in both Tulsa and Rogers counties, court records indicate.

He also had been convicted of showing obscene material to a child, lewd molestation and making lewd proposals to a child.

Matt Barnard 581-8408, Nicole Marshall 581-8459
matt.barnard@tulsaworld.com, nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com By MATT BARNARD and NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writers

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Some reader comments for this story were copied from "Convicted sex offender dies after setting himself on fire," which was published on 10/22/2009.

	Report Comment Carlos, Tulsa (10/22/2009 5:14:28 PM) What a terrible way to perish!
	Report Comment THESMOKEHOLE, Tulsa (10/22/2009 5:39:09 PM) Glad the chucjordan comment was removed...what a fool...
	Report Comment okie ridgerunner, Small Country Town State Line (10/22/2009 5:40:07 PM) It is a shame but mabe that is what he thought he deserved. But like carlos said that is a terrible way to perish. Any way he has saved the taxpayers a lot of money.
	Report Comment GoBlueGal, Broken Arrow (10/22/2009 5:44:59 PM) Maybe he knew what would await him in prison. It's been said that they don't take to kindly to child molesters.
	Report Comment 2ndjoyce, BA (10/22/2009 5:55:50 PM) I can't imagine how desperate a man would have to be to choose to die this way. I am so sorry for him and for all who witnessed and had to deal with the aftermath. Very sorry for all.
	Report Comment Navin Johnson, Tulsa (10/22/2009 6:14:59 PM) Wow... who knew you could die from that?
	Report Comment cath3, (10/22/2009 6:22:47 PM) By looking at this man's face,he was severely depressed. What would drive a man to incinerate his own body? This is a tragedy that I am sure will affect many.
	Report Comment 2nTulsa, Tulsa (10/22/2009 7:12:29 PM) ech...what a horrible way to go.
	Report Comment aint missbehavin, no thanks (10/22/2009 7:15:11 PM) My gosh,I knew a Johnny Hobbs in school.Wow,how terrible.
	Report Comment Popeye, T-Town (10/22/2009 7:36:12 PM) If you can't drop the gunny-sacks you've filled during your life, they will drag you down...
	Report Comment Bullhead, - (10/22/2009 8:12:53 PM) He himself took care of it. Maybe he couldn't stop his addiction and this was the only way out. Must have been painful. I pray he made peace with God before he did it.
	Report Comment parksport, (10/22/2009 8:27:53 PM) I can't help but wonder if his inner demons consumed him? I am very ambivalent in my feelings when such actions are taken.
	Report Comment parksport, (10/22/2009 8:29:53 PM) To clarify what I am not implying, I am very steadfast in my relief I never encountered a person so dangerous to both himself and others.
	Report Comment dustyoutlaw, Tulsa (10/22/2009 8:47:10 PM) We mostly all have this idea that child molesters are people who think that there is nothing wrong with what they do. After working with an organization in Hollywood for a number of years I don't think this belief is true. I think a good many of them are totally repelled by their own actions and completely ashamed of themselves and their compulsions. Having said that, I don't know how bad you'd have to feel to set yourself on fire.
	Report Comment JCash, (10/22/2009 8:55:30 PM) .....and the band played on.
	Report Comment Thunder196, Tulsa (10/22/2009 9:28:43 PM) This would have to be desperation to put yourself through this. I'm sorry siblings had to witness this. How horrible.
	Report Comment Centrist, the burbs (10/22/2009 9:29:09 PM) I have no compassion for convicted sex offenders. He suffered less than his victims are for the rest of their lives. If they would all kill themselves it would save the world a lot of pain.
	Report Comment Jolie2, (10/22/2009 9:30:29 PM) to Webmeister, Do you think Johnny Hobbs would have been grateful to have been saved from the choice he made to take his own life? I doubt it. Not only would he still be going to prison, if he survived the burn injuries, he would suffer terribly in the process of healing.
	Report Comment Thunder196, Tulsa (10/22/2009 9:31:40 PM) blindshoe Hope your statement never comes back to bite you.
	Report Comment bearway, Jenks (10/22/2009 10:30:51 PM) JD, If what you say is true, you should the Federal DOJ with the evidence and have the place investigated. It will take someone like your friend reporting the conditions to clean the place up. It sounds much worse than Gitmo from your description.
	Report Comment bearway, Jenks (10/22/2009 10:31:52 PM) Meant to say Contact the Federal Department of Justice.
	Report Comment Ron B, (10/22/2009 10:42:47 PM) Webmeister needs to travel around with the fire department so he can rescue people. The guy set himself on fire, he was not a victim. I doubt if any of those posting would have rushed to his aid. Bravery at the key board and bravery in a crisis are two very different things.
	Report Comment Bonasera the Undertaker, Brooklyn (10/22/2009 11:04:43 PM) I've never heard so much misplaced sympathy in my life. The true "victims" were his prey. If we are going to feel sorry for the incinerated, let's think of the millions of innocent Jews who were incinerated in Nazi Germany.
	Report Comment SoonerDJ, Lisbon, Portugal (10/23/2009 4:47:07 AM) No sympathy for this guy. JDReinstein: You're complaining about the Tulsa jail? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't jail a punishment? I have no sympathy for anyone in jail. People in US prisons get better treatment than almost any other prison in the world. When I'm in the Gulf doing a stores onload for several hours in 120 degree heat and I am passing the food down the line and when the steaks come and it is clearly stamped "Grade D, Prison Rejected" on the box, "sympathy" is not something I think about for a prisoner. I think he must be enjoying a nice meal and I'll be skipping the beef products for the next week or two. Also, shouldn't your friend have documented all of this while she worked there to build a case against the prison??
	Report Comment Webmeister, Tulsa (10/23/2009 5:11:46 AM) To JDReinstein: If you can provide evidence of mistreatment of prisoners in the Tulsa County jail, the U.S. Dept. of Justice does not conduct an investigation. If you contact them with evidence, they will forward your evidence to the F.B.I. The F.B.I. is the investigative arm of our Federal system of justice. So, contact the F.B.I. with your evidence.

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