1. If it was the guy at the petrol station who saw the dropped cigarette, wasn't he also supposed to be some big gangland figure? didn't the policy think it was odd that he was a witness for the prosecution?
2. Was Hooch supposed to have knocked out that bald hard nut with one punch???
1. He wasnt any kind of top dog. Just a henchman. But yeah, he ought to have been on the police radar. Also I think (although I'm not 100% sure) that when someone gives evidence for the prosecution, the police have to check if the person has a criminal record, and tell the defence team.
But there were other reasons that the police should have found out what happened much earlier. In particular, one of the very first things in the dealer's murder investigation should have been to check the nearby CCTV. I know it was revealed that the top detective wasnt trying very hard to solve that murder. But he still would have had to go through the motions.
2. Can't remember if he knocked him out. But the fact that one punch from Hooch was sufficient to end the fight was to remind us that Hooch, underneath his reformed demeanour, was still a hard nut. Also it is interesting that he hit the bald guy when he wasnt expecting it. Later Hooch had to use his thug skills for the crucial purpose of overpowering Freddy; so it was important that that didnt just come out of the blue to the viewer.