Man holds pair hostage, kills woman's dog

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - A Baton Rouge man has been arrested for reportedly holding a man and a woman hostage, and killing the woman's dog.

Officials with the Baton Rouge Police Department say officers responded to the call on Tuesday, July 17. The call was for a man armed with a knife holding a man and woman hostage inside an apartment on Cedarcrest Avenue.

Officers arrived on scene around 3:45 a.m. and learned the man, identified as Daniel Hobdy, 34, reportedly entered the male victim's room and a verbal argument began. The male and female victims then tried to leave the apartment, but Hobdy allegedly stood in the bedroom doorway armed with a knife, preventing them from leaving.

After about 45 minutes of restraining the two victims, Hobdy reportedly lunged at the woman's dog to take him from her, but she tossed him into the hallway so he could get away. A fight then broke out between Hobdy and the woman, and she reportedly sustained a cut to her left ring finger.

Hobdy then reportedly retrieved the dog, a 13-year-old Shih Tzu, and killed it.

Hobdy continued to hold the two victims hostage and did not allow them to leave until the man allowed Hobdy to use his phone. The two victims were finally able to leave the apartment, at which time they took the woman's dog to her parents' house in Prairieville.

The victims were able to identify Hobdy in a six-person photographic lineup, officers say.

Hobdy was arrested and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, aggravated second degree battery, false imprisonment while armed with a dangerous weapon, and theft.

Records show Hobdy was also arrested back in 2013 for entering a Subway armed with a gun, demanding a sandwich. On October 13, 2016, Hobdy pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years' supervised probation, along with a $500 fine.

According to court records, Hobdy is a veteran of the Iraq War and was diagnosed with PTSD and depression after leaving the military in 2008. Reports indicate Hobdy had no felony arrests or convictions, nor any arrests for violent crimes prior to the incident at Subway.

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