Dave Hawk arrested, charged with murder

Dave Hawk was arrested Thursday afternoon in connection with the 2006 murder of ex-wife Debbie Hawk, local authorities said. Investigators from Hanford police and the Kings County District Attorney's Office took Hawk into custody shortly after 3 p.m. during a traffic stop at Grangeville Boulevard and 15th Avenue, just a block away from his Lemoore home, the Hanford Police Department reported.

Hawk, 49, was subsequently booked into Kings County Jail on one count of murder, with the special circumstances of murder for financial gain.

Police and Kings County District Attorney officials were relatively tight-lipped at a press conference this morning, basically rehashing the timeline of Debbie Hawk's 2006 disappearance and Dave Hawk's arrest on Thursday, but provided no other details on what evidence they had to arrest Dave Hawk for murder. Officials didn't answer any questions after the press conference, which lasted less than five minutes.

Although named the primary suspect by police in the disappearance and presumed homicide death of his ex-wife, Hawk had never been charged with murder until Thursday's arrest.

June 13 marks the two-year anniversary of Debbie Hawk's disappearance, in a case that has made numerous national headlines.

The 46-year-old mother of three went missing from her Hanford home nearly two years ago. Evidence collected from her house suggested she was assaulted and taken from her residence against her will. Her van was found in Fresno two days after her disappearance and her blood was found inside the van.

Dave Hawk was named as a suspect for Debbie Hawk's disappearance and presumed killing in October 2006.

Hawk was first arrested in June 2007 for unrelated charges of stealing more than $300,000 from his three children's trust funds and evading taxes on his income as well as possessing child pornography on his personal computer.

He was arraigned in March on five counts of tax fraud, three counts of embezzlement, one count of loan fraud and an additional count of perjury. These allegations against Hawk came about during an investigation into the disappearance of Debbie Hawk. Dave Hawk's trial was set for July 14, but his attorney has asked for a change of venue in the case.

Hawk was back in court on May 19, filing a motion to reclaim possessions seized from his home. A judge ruled the motion was insufficient.

Then came Thursday's arrest.

It has been a long grueling two years for Sandra Lackey, Debbie Hawk's long-time friend who has been actively involved with raising reward money to bring the case to closure.

"I am cautiously optimistic, because a lot of things could happen during trial," said Lackey, who was on her way from her home in Stanislaus County to Hanford in light of the news Thursday. "But I am hopeful that we're going down the right path. We're actually seeing the end of the tunnel."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.

(May 30, 2008)