Robert “Bobby” Hurley, III, 25, of London, Ky., was sentenced to 162 months in federal prison Thursday for orchestrating a brutal, shotgun-wielding kidnapping tied to a drug debt. U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom handed down the sentence after Hurley pleaded guilty in April 2018 to kidnapping and using a firearm during a crime of violence—a charge that carried a mandatory minimum and ensured prison time would be measured in decades, not years.
The crime unfolded when the victim, accused of stealing money from a local drug dealer Hurley frequented, was tracked down in East Bernstadt, Laurel County. Hurley ambushed him, striking the man in the back of the head with a loaded shotgun before forcing him at gunpoint into a waiting vehicle. An acquaintance drove Hurley, the victim, and another accomplice to the drug dealer’s residence in Pulaski County, where the real punishment began.
Once inside, Hurley and a co-defendant ordered the victim to enter through the back door, with Hurley marching behind him, shotgun in hand. They hogtied the man—binding his hands and feet—and slapped duct tape over his mouth. Forced into a chair, the victim was interrogated for the alleged theft. Hurley repeatedly struck him in the head with the shotgun while all three men took turns assaulting and questioning him until he falsely confessed.
“The defendant’s possession of a firearm in furtherance of brutal acts of violence, including kidnapping and assault, warranted the significant sentence imposed by the Court,” said U.S. Attorney Robert M. Duncan, Jr. “I commend the efforts of law enforcement in the investigation of this case, leading to a successful prosecution that removed a violent offender from the community.”
ATF Special Agent in Charge Stuart Lowrey of the Louisville Field Division added, “This violent defendant threatened the safety of our Eastern Kentucky communities. ATF is committed to working with our law enforcement partners by providing investigative resources that lead to arrests and successful prosecutions of dangerous criminal offenders.”
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Hurley must serve at least 85 percent of his 162-month sentence before release. Upon completion of his prison term, he will face five years of supervised release under the watch of the U.S. Probation Office. The investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Kentucky State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Samuel Dotson prosecuted the case, which falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods—a nationwide initiative targeting violent crime through federal, state, and local collaboration.
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Key Facts
- State: Kentucky
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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