A Maple Heights man, Darien Hobley, age 22, has pleaded not guilty to charges in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Riley Jones, also 20, outside a Bedford AutoZone, as reported by cleveland.com. The plea was entered during Hobley's arraignment before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Kira Krivosh. Hobley, who remains in jail with a bond set at $1 million, faced accusations including murder, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence.
Details surrounding the event indicate the incident occurred on the morning of August 4. After Hobley and Jones were engaged in an argument in Maple Heights, Hobley allegedly followed Jones to the parking lot where, she was shot in the chest in front of a witness. According to FOX8, Hobley then fled the scene on foot but was apprehended by officers a few streets away from the AutoZone located on Broadway Avenue.
The incident caused panic amongst witnesses, some of whom reported hearing gunfire and sought cover while contacting emergency services. Subsequent to the shooting, Hobley is said to have entered the AutoZone store, instructed employees to call 911, and then exited on foot. "It was lucky for us that his car was not movable at the time because it was blocked in by another vehicle, so he fled on foot and we were able to locate him very quickly," Bedford Police Deputy Chief Rick Suts told Cleveland 19.
