The man who prosecutors say killed and robbed a man he met on Craigslist pleaded guilty Thursday to a reduced charge of first-degree murder.
Jeramye Morgan Hobbs, 26, was scheduled to appear in Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herbert Wright's court Thursday morning for an omnibus hearing, in which attorneys discuss evidence in a case. But Hobbs' attorneys approached prosecutors that morning and said Hobbs was willing to enter a plea deal, deputy prosecutor Scott Duncan said.
"We were expecting an omnibus hearing today," he said.
Hobbs also pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and second-degree battery, and was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Prosecutors dropped a charge for theft of property in the plea deal.
Hobbs was charged in February 2015 with capital murder, aggravated robbery and theft of property in the shooting death of Frank Steinsiek, 56.
Steinsiek, an appliance technician who lived in Sherwood, had met Hobbs at a warehouse in south Little Rock to sell Hobbs a 2009 Yamaha motorcycle he had advertised on Craigslist. Police said Hobbs shot Steinsiek and robbed him of the motorcycle. Steinsiek's white Ford F-150 pickup was also taken, along with a U-Haul trailer. Police found the pickup later.
After seeing news reports about the homicide, Hobbs called police and told them he had bought a motorcycle from a man named Frank and showed them the motorcycle, police said. But detectives began to suspect he was responsible for Steinsiek's death and arrested Hobbs after he was unable to keep his story straight, eventually recording a confession from Hobbs.
Hobbs was charged with second-degree battery in July after beating a State Hospital patient while he was undergoing a mental evaluation. He was later found fit to stand trial.
The plea entered Thursday dropped the capital murder charge to first-degree murder and dropped the theft of property charge.
Prosecutors discussed terms of the plea deal with Steinsiek's family for more than an hour before to make sure they approved the terms.
Four hours after the scheduled 8:30 a.m. court time, Hobbs, 26, walked into the courtroom wearing a navy-blue jail jumpsuit and handcuffs as Steinsiek's widow wept in the front row of the courtroom with friends and family.
Hobbs pleaded guilty and acknowledged that he had committed the crimes when Wright asked him if he had lured Steinsiek to a warehouse, shot him and stole his motorcycle.
Wright accepted the terms of the plea deal, which were 40 years in prison for first-degree murder, 20 years in prison for aggravated robbery and six years in prison for second-degree battery. The murder and robbery sentences will be served consecutively, while Hobbs will get 668 days of jail credit. The six years for the battery sentence will be served concurrently with the other two sentences, and Hobbs will get 518 days of jail credit.
Metro on 12/16/2016