Reno Police Department, Nevada
End of Watch: Monday, June 25, 1979
Age: 33
Tour of Duty: 7 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Stabbed
Date of Incident: June 25, 1979
Weapon Used: Edged weapon; Knife
Suspect Info: Sentenced to death
Patrolman James Hoff was stabbed to death after being abducted during an undercover narcotics transaction.
Patrolman Hoff was posing as a drug dealer and had agreed to meet a buyer later in the night to conduct a transaction. The buyer and an accomplice, however, were planning on murdering the dealer and recruited two additional accomplices.
Shortly after Patrolman Hoff met the buyer, the surveillance equipment in his car malfunctioned and his backup officers were unable to hear what was occurring. The suspects were able to abduct him and stabbed him to death before dumping his body near the Dog Valley Road summit.
All four suspects, ages 16 to 20, were convicted of Patrolman Hoff's murder. The 20-year-old suspect was sentenced to death. On Oct. 27, 2011, the Nevada State Supreme Court upheld his conviction for the third time. He is the longest-serving inmate on Nevada's death row. The other three suspects were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Patrolman Hoff had served with the Reno Police Department for seven years.