HAMILTON — A Darby man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a man at a Hamilton residence Friday night.
Jamie Michael Conway, 43, is charged with deliberate homicide in the death of 52-year-old Peter Vanvallis of Hamilton.
Conway is also charged with assault with a weapon.
In charging documents, Hamilton Police responded Friday just after 10 p.m. after the resident of the home, Brekkan Green, called Ravalli County 911 to report that there had been a gunshot in her house, and she believed the male was dead.
When Hamilton police responded to the home on North Sixth Street, they found the victim lying on the floor and the defendant gone.
Green told detectives prior to calling 911, she and a friend were in her bedroom when she overheard the defendant and the victim arguing in the living room. Green told detectives she went to the living room briefly but returned to her bedroom.
She told detectives the two were arguing for quite some time and she "suddenly heard a single gunshot", and immediately went to the living room where she saw the defendant hunched over pointing the gun at Vanvallis. The defendant then left the house.
On Sunday, Conway made arrangements with Ravalli County Sheriff Steve Holton to be brought to the police department. When the defendant surrendered, he turned over a .40 caliber Glock semi-automatic handgun. During the interview, Conway told detectives he regularly open carries his .40 caliber Glock handgun for self-protection.
The defendant admitted to arguing with the victim and told detectives that Vanvallis pulled a handgun on him. Conway told police he pulled his gun from his holster and shot Vanvallis once. According to charging documents, police reported during the search of the home and Vanvallis body, no handgun or other weapon was found.
Conway told detectives he left the house because he "thought someone" would call 911. Conway remains in custody in the Ravalli County Detention Center.
Click here to read the court documents associated with the case.
