ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — One woman is calling for accountability after an Orange County deputy confiscated her personal belongings during a traffic stop.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the deputy in question, Jacob Hobby, resigned in March while under investigation for allegations that would have resulted in his termination.
The Orange County Administrative investigation found Hobby violated department rules, falsified records, and didn’t conform to laws.
According to the report, both policy and procedures were violated during a traffic stop shortly before 2 a.m. on January 12th along Alafaya Trail in Oviedo.
According to the investigative report, Hobby pulled over Irene Torres because he believed she was speeding.
The traffic stop lasted only 3-minutes, according to the report, which found Hobby unlawfully confiscated Torres’ license.
The report said Hobby also violated rules when he failed to call in the traffic stop or activate body camera.
It found Hobby also falsified records claiming a THC vape pen he also confiscated from the victim was taken during a different traffic stop.
“The only reason this man got caught is because I chose to speak up,” said Irene Torres.
Torres said shortly after the traffic stop, she called the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office to check if the stop was legitimate.
According to the investigative report, neither Orange County Sheriff’s Office nor the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office had record of the stop and the Seminole County Sheriff’s office completed an incident report “because of the possibility this was an incident of impersonating a law enforcement officer.”
Torres said for weeks afterwards, she was terrified and didn’t know who confiscated her license or what they would do with that personal information.
After investigators narrowed in on Hobby, she said she still wondered why she was pulled over and what Hobby’s intentions were.
“ It just doesn’t sit right with me. The whole interaction, the whole situation, the fact that he quit during the investigation,” said Torres, “it’s just It’s like he got away with the abuse of power.”
Attorney Tom Fighter said beyond Orange County’s Administrative Investigation Report, Hobby could face criminal charges.
“What he did was a tremendous betrayal of the public trust,” said Fighter who is also a former prosecutor, “He did steal property of other people. He took it without any authority, and he was acting way beyond his capacity as a law enforcement officer.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 9 that Seminole County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for deciding whether Hobby will be charged because the traffic stop happened in Oviedo.
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office told channel 9 they referred the entire case to professional standards in Orange County and are not currently pursuing criminal charges.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, they sent information about the deputy’s resignation while under investigation to FDLE.
A state criminal justice standards and training commission under FDLE will determine if Hobby loses his law enforcement certification.
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