A 32-year-old Montana man has been arrested for allegedly murdering a 62-year-old amputee, drugging him before dousing him with gasoline and burning him alive inside a mobile home after allegedly making a comment about a 13-year-old girl. James A. Hosey was arrested on Monday and charged with one count each of deliberate homicide, arson, theft, and tampering with evidence in connection with Michael Lee Huston’s death, authorities said.
According to a news release from the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, at around 7 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, 2025, deputies and firefighters responded to a structure fire in the 200 block of Jim Street. Firefighters extinguished the fire, and an investigation revealed a deceased body — later identified as Huston — inside the home.
“Evidence at the scene indicated that foul play was likely a factor in the death,” according to the news release. “Investigators were able to identify a person of interest and provide a description of the vehicle that the individual could be driving. A Montana Highway Patrol trooper located the vehicle and the individual in Big Horn County and arrested him shortly after noon on Saturday.
A subsequent autopsy determined that the victim died as a result of homicide. The cause of death was not stated in the news release.
That person was later identified as Hosey from Billings, Montana. Authorities said he was apprehended at the Love’s Travel Stop near Hardin, Montana, using his cellphone’s “emergency locate” function.
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According to court documents obtained by Great Falls, Montana-based CBS affiliate KRTV, a gas station attendant first informed authorities about Hosey’s possible involvement in Huston’s death. She spoke with Hosey on the day of the fire, describing him as a regular customer who told her he had tied up and set someone on fire.
Hosey claimed to have “smoked a pedo,” according to Billings NBC affiliate KULR.
Hosey also reportedly called a friend in Michigan and informed him that he had just killed Huston because of remarks the victim allegedly made about an underage girl.
“So I went over and got him high, on the verge of passing out, tied him up, beat his ass, poured gas in the house, and set fire to him,” Hosey told his friend, according to court documents.
Hosey appeared in Yellowstone County District Court before Judge Jeanne Walker on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. He is currently being held at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility on a $500,000 bond, according to online records.