Late on September 30, 2023, 28-year-old Luke James Botica was shot and killed inside his home on North 12th Street in Niles, Michigan. Police responding to a shooting call found Botica with a gunshot wound to the head; he was taken to Corewell Health Niles Hospital and pronounced dead. An autopsy determined the single gunshot wound was the cause of death.

Investigators arrested 29-year-old Jamie Phillip Perry of St. Louis, Missouri, in connection with the shooting. A witness at the scene, Michael White, told police Perry and Botica had been arguing about drugs and money, and that White saw Perry point a gun at Botica, who was unarmed with his hands in the air, before firing one shot. Perry asserted he only drew his weapon after Botica had pointed a pistol and then a shotgun at him. Officers recovered three firearms at the residence, including one belonging to Perry.

Perry faces multiple felony counts, including open murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Pretrial proceedings have included attorney changes and competency evaluations; Perry has been found incompetent at least once and was sent for additional treatment pending further review. Did anyone in the Niles area know Botica or have information about the dispute that night?