THUNDER BAY - Mary Voss had 429,000 reasons not to go to police, said Crown attorney, Peter Keen, referencing a property included in an agreement between her and an alleged extortion victim that stated the house valued at $429,000 would be purchased for her in exchange for not going to police with incriminating evidence.
"Who would go to the police after getting a free house?” Keen asked Keith Hobbs during cross-examination.
“I was going to talk (her) into going to the police,” Hobbs said.
“What person in their right mind would go to police after being promised a house?”
“I didn’t care if it would cost $429,000,” Hobbs said. “[. . .] It would help me show the police that he was trying to buy his way out of this.”
Keen continued his cross-examination of Hobbs during Day 13 of the extortion trial against the former mayor, his wife Marisa Hobbs, and local resident Mary Voss.
After nearly three hours of questioning Thursday morning, Keen asked Hobbs about an agreement signed by the alleged victim and Voss, which was drafted by Hobbs at the request of the victim and stated the victim would purchase a $429,000 house for Voss.
Part of the agreement stated that it would be rendered null and void if any party went to the police with any evidence of possible criminal behaviour by the alleged victim.
Keen took issue with that statement in the agreement and repeatedly asked Hobbs if he thought it made sense.
“Why do you sign an agreement that will become null and void the moment you go to the police when that was already available to you?” Keen asked.
“The victim asked me to draft this document,” Hobbs said. “So I just went along with the victim.”
Keen asked if Hobbs already had incriminating evidence on a USB stick of the victim, why the agreement needed to be drafted in the first place and why he didn’t just go to the police at any time.
Hobbs has maintained that his primary concern was to help Voss and keep her safe, which is why the agreement included the purchase of a house for Voss and allowing her to stay at a property owned by the victim.
“Rather than going to the police right then, this agreement says (Voss) is going to go back into the victim’s house,” Keen said. “I’m going to suggest to you that that is ridiculous.”
“I didn’t think there was a timeline on when I can go to the police with this evidence,” Hobbs said.
“Didn’t you say to Mary don’t sign this or the police might think you are trying to extort him,” Keen asked.
“That wasn’t even in my mind at the time,” Hobbs said. “It was the victim driving the bus.”
Keen added that if Hobbs’ objective was to go to the police the entire time, signing the agreement conflicts with that objective, though Hobbs said it was part of his plan of collecting evidence against the victim.
“If you go to the police you cost them $450,000?” Keen said.
“To me this was a confession by the victim,” Hobbs said.
Alleged victim becomes panicked
A meeting between the alleged victim and Keith Hobbs on Nov. 16, 2016 was also discussed at length. According to Keen, it was following this meeting that the demeanour of the victim changed and he began to panic because it came after a meeting with Keith and Marisa Hobbs.
“In that rollercoaster ride, the dominate feature of the texts is issues surrounding the house, who is going to pay, (the victim) feeling he is being extorted, and threats, all of that arises after the meeting you have on the morning of Nov. 16,” Keen said.
“I guess you could say that,” Hobbs replied.
“But you maintain no threats happened?”
“I never threatened (the victim). Ever.”
According to Keen, text messages before that meeting on Nov. 16 between Marisa Hobbs, Voss, and the alleged victim included discussions of the purchasing a house. The house referenced by the victim is the $250,000 Edward Street property.
In the evening on Nov. 15, there was an exchange between Voss and Marisa Hobbs where Voss says she doesn’t think Keith Hobbs should ask for any money.
Hobbs testified that was in reference to Voss receiving the cash equivalent for the house on Edward Street, which she did not want.
“I was already under the understanding that Mary had a $200,000 amount and had other funds in her account,” Hobbs said. “I guess I discussed that with Mary and if we should ask (the victim) that. That’s the basis of that text. I guess she had an after thought that she better not ask (the victim) for money or she could be charged with extortion.”
It was also during the evening of Nov. 15 when Voss texted Marisa saying she wanted to make the victim ‘sweat a little bit,’ but Keith Hobbs said he was not aware what that was in reference to because he was not involved in the messages.
“Before the meeting was there any plans to make victim sweat a bit?” Keen asked.
“There were never any plans to do that,” Hobbs said. “I don’t know why she texted that.”
There was also a 48-minute phone call between Marisa Hobbs and Voss, which Keen suggested was a detailed conversation about houses and what house to buy.
“I don’t know how you arrive to that,” Hobbs said. “I don’t know what that call was about. I was not on that phone call.”
The following morning on Nov. 16, 2016, Keith Hobbs met with the victim and he described the victim as being sober but ‘a bit nervous, a bit off.’
“You don’t make anything that could be construed as a threat?” Keen asked of the meeting.
“Absolutely not,” Hobbs said. “I have never threatened (the victim).”
Following that meeting, Keen said text messages from the alleged victim became panicked, saying Voss had to sign the agreement right away and that he was at risk.
The victim also sent a text message to Marisa Hobbs saying Voss would have to help pay for the house, to which Marisa responded: ‘Pay?’
“(The victim) is exhibiting signs of panic,” Keen said. “He is worried something might be happening to him. He needs Mary . . . to sign something to prevent that from occurring.”
“At this point in time, he is pushing hard to try to get them to sign something,” Keen continued. “Your wife’s response, still calm: ‘stop these threats now. You have lots to lose. Please, we are all adults here.’ I would suggest to you that your wife responds to those threats with threats of her own.”
“That’s what I’m reading here,” Hobbs said. “I didn’t take that as a threat though.”
Keen suggested that the reason the victim becomes panicked is because Hobbs made him aware that he had seen the videos showing him acting erratically and using vulgar and offensive language.
“The reason he is now panicked in these texts, that you told him with your wife present on the morning of the 16th, that there are videos,” Keen said. “You need to buy her a house. Do you agree or disagree.”
“I totally disagree with you,” Hobbs said.
Toward the end of Keen’s cross-examination, he pointed out some inconsistencies in Hobbs’ testimony, particularly the night he met Craig Loverin in a grocery store parking lot to give him a USB drive with videos of the alleged victim.
Initially Hobbs said he never instructed Loverin to give the USB to the victim, only saying he could do whatever he wanted with it.
During cross-examination, however, Hobbs changed his recollection of the meeting and he testified that he told Loverin he should show the videos to the victim.
“I think (the victim) needed to see his behavior,” Hobbs said.
Keen concluded his cross-examination on Thursday afternoon. Brian Greenspan, who is representing Keith and Marisa Hobbs, had no questions for re-examination.
Complete coverage of Hobbs trial:
Day 1: Keith Hobbs trial starts today
Witness testifies of interactions between Hobbs and alleged extortion victim
Day 2: Details of extortion allegations heard at Hobbs trial
Day 3: Videos from USB drive given by Hobbs shown in court
Day 4: Alleged extortion victim calls behaviour in videos horrid and awful
'Pack your toothbrush' Hobbs alleged warned extortion victim
Day 5: Alleged extortion victim trying to ‘buy silence:’ Greenspan
Day 6: Alleged extortion victim believes Voss was ‘swayed’ by Keith and Marisa Hobbs
Witness testifies of agreement signed between alleged extortion victim and accused
Day 7: More details emerge of alleged victim’s state in fall 2016 and the discovery of a will
Day 8: Homeowner testifies of Marisa Hobbs and Voss viewing $429,000 home
‘I have never extorted anyone’ Hobbs says during videotaped statement with OPP
Day 9: ‘We are guilty of being stupid:’ Marisa Hobbs tells police
Day 10: OPP investigator tells Voss ‘the truth will set you free’
Marisa Hobbs ‘won’t take no for an answer:’ Voss
Day 11: Voss believes alleged extortion victim 'set her up'
Day 12: Keith Hobbs testifies in extortion trial
Hobbs questioned about association with alleged extortion victim
