Police are seeking to interview Joshua Jacob Best, 25, of Billings, a convicted drug dealer, to find out if he was involved in a South Side shooting on Saturday.
Sgt. Kevin Iffland said detectives are trying to clarify conflicting stories given by witnesses about the incident that left Arthur Mario Santos Banda, 19, dead and a 15-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the knee.
Police planned to re-interview the 15-year-old Thursday. They haven't been able to speak to him since the night of the shooting. He has been released from Billings Clinic.
Billings Police Department Sgt. Kevin Iffland said Best has a relationship with the 24-year-old woman believed to be the shooter.
Best has a criminal record that includes being sentenced to 36 months in prison in May 2005 for criminal distribution of drugs.
“We want to talk with him and interview him and see what he has to say about the whole incident,” Iffland said. “We've heard different theories, and the detectives want to eliminate all possibilities, but the problem is it is all hearsay.
“We have no concrete information, we've heard of this and that, but it's not going on any evidence we can substantiate.”
Banda died after being shot in the head, shoulder and stomach near a residence at 515 S. 35th St.
Statements from the 24-year-old woman and the 15-year-old indicate that Banda and the 15-year-old were walking down an alley near the woman's home at 2:40 a.m. Saturday.
The 15-year-old told police that he and Banda were going to break into a vehicle, a Chevy Tahoe, on the woman's property.
The woman claims that the two men were walking down the alley yelling profanities and that she felt threatened by them.
Shortly after that, both victims were shot. The woman apparently used a semi-automatic pistol.
One of the men was armed with a semi-automatic rifle. Police are still unclear on whether Banda or the 15-year-old used the rifle, or who fired the first shot.
About 10 to 20 shots were fired between the two sides.
After being shot in the knee, the 15-year-old fled to a Fifth Avenue South home to get help.
The resident at that home was the first to call police. A second call came from a neighbor who heard the gunshots. A third came from the 24-year-old woman, who is claiming self-defense in the shooting.
Iffland said police did not get a 911 call from Banda that night.
According to court records, Banda had a criminal history involving partner-family member assault, misdemeanor assault, misdemeanor theft and criminal trespassing to a vehicle in Billings Municipal Court.
Iffland said the 24-year-old woman does not have a criminal record. The 15-year-old boy has various misdemeanor and traffic incidents, but since he is a minor, Iffland said they could not specify the type of incidents.
Contact Chelsea Krotzer at ckrotzer@billingsgazette.com or 657-1392.
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