BILLINGS — Justin Hosey of Billings was charged Wednesday for allegedly drugging a man and lighting him on fire last weekend at the Meadowlark Trailer Park in south Billings, according to documents filed by Yellowstone County Deputy Prosecutor Ed Zink.
Hosey, 32 years old, has been charged with deliberate homicide for the death of the 62-year-old victim, an amputee who was identified in the documents by the initials M.H.
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Hosey was arrested Monday at the Love's truck stop in Hardin after investigators used an "emergency locate" on his cell phone. He was held on a fugitive warrant from North Carolina and has not yet appeared in court.
Yellowstone County deputies first learned of Hosey's possible involvement from a nearby gas station attendant, who said she talked with a regular customer named Justin in the store the day of the fire, according to documents.
The man claimed he tied up the victim and lit him on fire, according to documents.
Deputies also received a call Monday from a friend of Hosey's in Michigan, who said he received a disturbing text message from Hosey Saturday. The two talked on the phone, and the friend said Hosey told him the victim made an inappropriate remark about an underage girl.
“So I went over and got him high, on the brink of passing out, tied him up, beat his ass and poured gas in the house and set fire to him,” Hosey allegedly told the friend, according to charging documents.
Later, deputies received another call from Hosey's brother-in-law in Florida, who said Hosey had called his sister and allegedly admitted to the crime because the victim was trying to hurt a child and give her meth.
A preliminary finding from the autopsy indicated the victim was alive when he was burned.
