Helena, Montana – A Hill County man has been charged with deliberate homicide in connection with the 2019 killing of a man on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation, according to an announcement from Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen.
Prosecutors with the Montana Attorney General’s Office filed one count of deliberate homicide against James Richard Michael Lowrance, 35, alleging he was responsible for the death of William Bernard Hobbins.
The charge follows an investigation that began after the fatal shooting in September 2019 and continued for several years before new evidence was developed.
Investigation uncovered witness statements and forensic evidence
According to investigators, a Rocky Boy Police officer was on duty in September 2019 when he heard multiple gunshots. After responding to the area, the officer found Hobbins lying on the ground suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Authorities said Lowrance spoke with investigators on the day of the shooting. He told them that he and Hobbins had left a party together and that Hobbins later got out of the vehicle. Lowrance claimed Hobbins threatened to strike him with a rock if he did not leave, and he said he drove away, leaving Hobbins in the roadway.
As the investigation continued, detectives interviewed several people who had been with the two men before the shooting. Witnesses consistently stated that Lowrance and Hobbins had been partying together and had argued before they were last seen in each other’s company.
Investigators later searched Lowrance’s vehicle and discovered a receipt for .357 Magnum ammunition. They also recovered a fired cartridge casing from the vehicle. According to investigators, forensic testing showed that casing matched four additional cartridge casings collected at the crime scene, with all five having been fired from the same firearm.
During another interview conducted in October 2019, Lowrance denied killing Hobbins. However, he acknowledged purchasing ammunition for a pistol while in Great Falls.
The investigation remained active over the following years.
In March 2026, an agent with the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation interviewed a man who reported selling a Taurus .357 revolver to Lowrance 12 days before the shooting. Investigators considered that interview another important development in the case.
Attorney General Knudsen announced that prosecutors have now charged Lowrance with deliberate homicide in connection with Hobbins’ death.
Assistant Attorney General Thorin Geist is leading the prosecution.
The investigation was conducted through a joint effort involving the Montana Department of Justice’s Criminal Investigation Division and Forensic Science Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Rocky Boy Police Department, and the Hill County Sheriff’s Office.
The criminal case will now move through the Montana court system as prosecutors seek to prove the allegations against Lowrance.
