Hunter
01/09/21
An Iowa City car salesman and former school superintendent with Marion Schools was reportedly nearly three times over the legal limit when he was arrested for his third OWI Thursday night.
According to police, 67-year-old Nicholas Hobbs was called in by staff at a nearby HyVee store as being very intoxicated. They refused to sell alcohol to him because of his condition. Officers located him pulling into his Tulane Court driveway at 9:20pm. His vehicle, a 2021 Audi, had dealer plates from his place of employment, which according to his Linked In profile is Carousel Motors in Iowa City. When making contact with Hobbs, he reportedly almost fell when he exited the vehicle. Officers noted a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, and allegedly had a hard time standing, nearly falling several times.
Hobbs failed field testing; he refused a PBT and reportedly stated he was drunk and probably shouldn’t have been behind the wheel. A Datamaster reading showed his blood-alcohol level at .222 percent.
Hobbs has two OWI convictions; in 2011 from Linn County and 2014 from Johnson County. He was charged with his third, a Class D Felony punishable by a prison term of up to five years if convicted.
Hobbs previously was principal at Marion High School and was District Superintendent for about six years until he resigned in February 2009. He was charged with an OWI while Superintendent in 2005. In that case, he was given a suspended jail sentence and a year probation.