Kenneth Lee Purcel Jr. was 31 when he was fatally shot after an altercation at a Motel 6 in Helena, Montana, in the early morning hours of January 25, 2017.

Investigators quickly focused on 41-year-old Brandon LeClair. A woman who was with LeClair, Travis Holly Stephens, told police the conflict began in the room when Purcel allegedly struck LeClair with the bottle and kicked him, and that the confrontation continued outside. Court documents say both men had ties to the drug trade and that LeClair told investigators Purcel had been harassing him on social media and calling him a snitch because LeClair had been a confidential informant in a methamphetamine case.

LeClair was apprehended the same day in Boulder and charged with deliberate homicide; he was held on $250,000 bond. In the car Stephens was driving police found about a pound of methamphetamine and marijuana, and she was arrested on drug-related charges with bail set at $150,000. If anyone knew Purcel or has information about the incident, please come forward and share what is known.