BUTTE — Butte bondsman Jay Hubber was sentenced to prison on Thursday, June 20 after being found guilty in March of deliberate homicide by accountability in the shooting death of Bill Harris in December 2021.
Hubber's assistant, Nicholas Jaeger, was also sentenced on Thursday after being found guilty of firing the shots that killed Harris.
Hubber was sentenced to 60 years in prison with 20 suspended on the homicide charge. He received an additional concurrent 20-year sentence on a burglary charge.
Jaeger was sentenced to 60 years with 20 suspended.
Watch previous coverage: Butte bondsman and assistant found guilty of homicide
In March, a 12-member jury found Hubber and Jaeger responsible for the shooting death of William Harris in his home at 815 Main Street on the evening of Dec. 19, 2021.
Prosecutors alleged that Hubber recruited Jaeger to assist him in picking up a man wanted for skipping bond who was staying in Harris’ home.
The pair entered the home without permission and Hubber started struggling with the man he was trying to arrest. Harris demanded the men leave his home as Hubber wrestled with the wanted man. In the chaos, Jaeger got Hubber’s gun and fatally shot Harris twice.
In May 2023, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed HB 62—a bill that was proposed in response to Hubber and Jaeger's case and passed during the 2023 Montana legislative session—into law. The law requires, among other provisions, that bail bondsmen have no felony convictions, a high school diploma, and complete 40 hours of training to be licensed.
