A man who participated in the kidnapping and ransom of undocumented immigrants in 2004 must return to federal prison for violating probation within weeks of his release in 2017 after serving a decade behind bars.
Bobby Ray Hunt was initially sentenced in 2007 to serve 10.5 years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons after he and three other men were convicted on federal charges of a hostage-taking scheme in which several Mexican nationals were held -sometimes at gunpoint- in a Tucson residence in Mary 2004 until their families paid ransoms of about $1,000 each.
Hunt, 50, was released by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in August 2017 then began a five-year period of supervised release, commonly referred to as probation. But his federal probation officer petitioned a U.S. District Court judge in January 2018 to revoke Hunt’s release for allegedly using methamphetamine and failing to submit to drug testing.
On June 10, Hunt was resentenced in the 2004 case after admitting earlier this year to the probation violations. He must now serve 10 months in BOP custody and then serve a three-year term of supervised release. By the time Hunt completes probation he will have been in prison or under the supervision of a probation officer related to the kidnapping scheme for nearly 20 years.
The decision to return Hunt to federal prison for the probation violations was due in part to his extensive criminal history before the 2004 kidnapping, his involvement in the violent kidnap scheme, and a conviction for assaulting a peace officer after being released from prison, according to Judge Frank R. Zapata.
Court records show Hunt was arrested in June 2018 in Maricopa County on charges of aggravated assault against a police officer and resisting arrest. He entered a guilty plea to the aggravated assault charge and was sentenced in September 2018 to 1.5 years with the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) with credit for 132 days spent in jail awaiting resolution of the case.
Hunt became eligible for early release in September 2019 at which time the U.S. Marshals Service took control of him from the Arizona State Prison Complex in Douglas on a 2018 warrant stemming from the probation violations. Since then he has remained in USMS custody awaiting disposition of the probation matter.
At this week’s resentencing hearing Zapata awarded Hunt credit for the nearly nine months spent in federal custody. Hunt is expected to finish probation in July 2023, more than 19 years after his participation in the kidnappings.
State prison records show Hunt was the subject of seven disciplinary infractions, ranging from disobeying orders, stolen property, and violations of ADC’s drug testing program during his ADC stay. Federal prison officials do not share inmate disciplinary information with the public.
