Jackson Free Press

Police arrested Gregory Tavoras Hobson of Canton and Markeith Brown of Canton last December for the Dec. 8, 2005, shooting death of 16-year-old Keavin Jones. When Hobson's charges went before a grand jury recently, the jury said there was not enough evidence to push a prosecution against Hobson. More than six months after he was arrested and presented his alibi, police finally dropped the charges in late June.

From the time of his arrest, Hobson tried to tell anyone who would listen that he was at work at the time of the shooting, and has the time clock and co-worker testimony to defend him. But that didn't seem to be enough to keep him out of jail over the Christmas holidays.

"That was the first year my family had a Christmas without my grandmother, and then they had to deal with me being in jail. We didn't even have Christmas that year. Seems there wasn't any point in it," he tells the Jackson Free Press.

Hobson, who works an irregular shift at SourceLink, in Madison, said his time clock showed him clocking out for lunch at 8:01 p.m., and back in from lunch at 8:29. The Dec. 8 killing was more than 30 minutes driving time away, and Hobson argues that he could not have made the trip to the scene of the crime and back before clocking in at 8:29. Lending credence to his argument is a fingerprint-reading time clock, which leaves little room for doubt on whether or not he was the one doing the clocking.

Hobson's manager showed Jackson police the details behind the intricate clock mechanism and the low chance for fraud, but police remained unconvinced.

"The detective said he's got three tapes showing my truck (a 1995 Red Chevy Blazer) there at the scene of the crime. There was no arguing with them," Hobson said.

Hobson spent three hours in a Madison County jail before JPD carted him off to Hinds County Jail, where he languished for another 19 days, fretting and furious that detectives ignored his reasoning.

The young man says friends and relatives of Jones displayed little doubt in his guilt at his Dec. 12 arraignment.

"I remember they sat up in there when I went to court, and they're all happy to hear that I can't make bond in the courtroom saying 'We got his ass,' and my momma all tore up, saying 'Ya'll ain't got nothing,'" Hobson recalled.

Working against Hobson was a prior record. Hobson served three years' jail time for an armed robbery in Canton back in 1996. He was free and banging together a normal life before the Jones murder rolled him.

Hobson bonded out at $10,000 after nearly a month. "When I saw (Cedric Willis) on the TV, after he got out, I thought, 'Man, they're going to do me the same way they did him," Hobson said.

Now, Hobson is afraid to show his face in public. Nothing alienates a community like a murder tag.

"I used to go out to clubs and stuff, but I'm scared to do that these days because I don't know who all has told who about the accusations, and I don't feel good about being seen in public anymore," Hobson said. "I mean, it's hard to get back the way you were after they've been on the news saying I killed a little 16-year-old boy. I'm too embarrassed to go any further than my front porch sometimes these days."

Still Hobson's family—and his boss—have faith in him, though Sourcelink could easily have distanced itself from an ex-con with a murder rap. SourceLink Manager Dwayne Cook has stood behind Hobson throughout the ordeal, and other employees contacted the JFP early on after his arrest to report his alibi.

"I showed the detective the surveillance tape showing when Hobson clocked in after his lunch break," Cook told the JFP in December. "I just think the police may have had it wrong. I don't intend to let (Hobson) go."

Jackson police have made no new developments in the Jones murder since releasing Hobson and the younger suspect from suspicion just weeks ago. The case is still declared open and, for now, the murderer has eluded justice.

In the meantime, Hobson has taken his complaint to the city council and says he is now considering suing the city for wrongful arrest and civil-rights violations.

"I'm looking for an attorney out of town to help me with this," Hobson said.