Alleged ID thief a no-show in court Gouldsboro man charged with trying to pass himself as an Oregon resident

ELLSWORTH – A Gouldsboro man accused of serving jail time while passing himself off as an Oregon man failed to appear in court Tuesday, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, according to a prosecutor.

Jeffrey Hobson, 42, was supposed to go on trial Tuesday in Ellsworth District Court on charges of assault, terrorizing and operating after suspension, Hancock County Assistant District Attorney Mary Kellett said Wednesday. The charges are unrelated to the aggravated forgery charges Hobson is facing in Hancock and Penobscot counties for allegedly stealing the Oregon man’s identity, Kellett said.

Hobson is scheduled to go on trial the week of Aug. 11 in Hancock County Superior Court on charges that he pretended to be Oregon resident Jeffrey Wilson, 42, who is on active duty with the U.S. Air Force in Yokota, Japan.

On two occasions in 1998, when he was arrested on charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants, once in Bangor and once in the town of Hancock, Hobson allegedly identified himself to police as Wilson, showing them a driver’s license bearing Wilson’s name.

The suspect allegedly was convicted of the OUI charges and served jail time in both counties, all while passing himself off as Wilson, according to police.

Hobson and Wilson were both born on Sept. 28, 1960, according to court documents.

Hobson was supposed to appear Wednesday in Ellsworth District Court to go on trial for allegedly assaulting his wife and then spitting on and making threatening comments to a Gouldsboro police officer three years ago, according to Kellett. Hobson allegedly identified himself as Jeffrey Wilson to Gouldsboro police when they responded to the May 27, 2000, incident, Kellett said.

“Mr. Hobson failed to appear and a warrant has been issued,” Kellett said of Wednesday’s scheduled trial.

Hobson also was scheduled to go on trial Wednesday in district court on an unrelated charge of operating a motor vehicle after suspension. There also was to be a separate hearing on an $80 restitution order, which stems from his conviction last year on two counts of negotiating a worthless instrument, according to Kellett.

Hobson does not have an attorney to represent him on the district court charges, she said.

“He was representing himself,” Kellett said.

Ellsworth attorney Jeffrey Toothaker has been appointed to represent Hobson on the charges in Hancock County of aggravated forgery.

Hobson’s identity ruse was not discovered by authorities until last summer when Wilson was notified by Oregon officials that he could not renew his Oregon driver’s license because he had been convicted in Maine of OUI.

After Wilson called the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department from Japan to dispute the claim, Detective Alan Brown checked inmate records at the Hancock County Jail and discovered that the fingerprints in a file labeled with Wilson’s name allegedly matched those in a file labeled with Hobson’s name.

Hobson is missing his right thumb, Brown has said, but a set of fingerprints Wilson subsequently sent to the sheriff’s office indicates Wilson is not missing any fingers.

Wilson, contacted in May in Japan via e-mail, has said he has never been farther east in the United States than Indiana. A senior master sergeant with the Air Force, he indicated in the e-mail that he has straightened out the issue with Oregon officials, but that he is concerned he might face similar troubles if he retires from the Air Force and tries to get a driver’s license in a different state.

Wilson, Kellett and Brown each have indicated they do not know how Hobson allegedly obtained a copy of the Oregon driver’s license.