A Melba resident who allegedly killed a man with a pellet gun over the weekend was charged with a pair of crimes.

Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Christian Price, 29, at his Melba home Saturday afternoon on felony charges of voluntary manslaughter and the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Price was waiting at the crime scene near victim Richard Vandecoevering, 41, when deputies arrived, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Price told them he had been trying to remove Vandecoevering from the property for some time, and the two had “heated arguments” in the past. When Price saw the man exit a shed, he told Vandecoevering to leave the property, and the two began yelling, according to Price’s statement. Price said he grabbed a gun and aimed it at Vandecoevering, telling him to leave three times.

Vandecoevering walked toward him and said, “You ain’t going to do s—,” according to Price’s statement.

“That’s when I shot him,” Price told a deputy, showing him a spot about 40 feet from the victim.

The affidavit noted that “the deceased was observed laying on his back with a small puncture hole left of the center of his chest. … The wound was approximately 5 centimeters in diameter. At the time there was no blood around the wound, but blood was observed on both hands. There was no sign of an exit wound on his back.”

Price said he panicked, threw the air rifle on the ground and went to get two other people who also lived on the property. One person called 911. When Price returned to the scene, he said in his statement that he found Vandecoevering “gasping for air” and began giving him chest compressions.

When another person at the scene took over, Price said he panicked again and threw the gun under a shed. A deputy later received it, according to the affidavit.

At a hearing, Owyhee County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Topmiller said he didn’t believe Price intended to kill the victim.

Price remains at the Owyhee County Jail on a $500,000 bond. His next hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Owyhee County Courthouse.