Attorney General’s Office charges Hill County man with deliberate homicide

James Richard Michael Lowrance, 35, a resident of Hill County, was charged with the murder of William Bernard Hobbins. In September 2019, a Rocky Boy Police Officer heard gun shots while on duty. When he arrived on scene, he found William Hobbins lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds.

The same day of the shooting, Lowrance told investigators he and Hobbins left a party together and that Hobbins eventually jumped out of the car before Hobbins threatened to hit Lowrance with a rock if he did not leave. Lowrance said he left Hobbins in the road. Multiple interviews were conducted with witnesses who were with Hobbins and Lowrance prior to the shooting. They all said the two were partying and had been fighting before the last time they were seen together.

Investigators searched Lowrance’s car where they found a receipt for .357 Magnum ammunition and recovered a fired cartridge casing that matched four other casings at the scene. It was later determined that all five cases were fired from the same gun.

In October 2019, investigators interviewed Lowrance where he denied killing Hobbins. However, he admitted to buying ammunition for the pistol in Great Falls.

In March 2026, a Montana Division of Criminal Investigation Agent interviewed a man who says he sold a Taurus .357 revolver to Lowrance 12 days before the shooting.

The prosecution of this case is led by Assistant Attorney General Thorin Geist. The investigation was conducted by the Montana Department of Justice’s Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science divisions, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Rocky Boy Police Department, and the Hill County Sheriff’s Office.