Prosecutors drop charge against Stevens County man who allegedly tried to kill neighbor

Stevens County prosecutors last month quietly dropped an attempted murder charge against a man who was accused of leaving his disabled neighbor to die in a swamp.

John L. Price Jr., 55, spent nearly four weeks in jail after his arrest on July 23. The previous day, sheriff’s deputies had found Price’s neighbor, 69-year-old Ralph Roberts, shouting for help at the bottom of a ravine behind their homes, which are in a mountainous area between the towns of Valley and Springdale.

Roberts, who struggles to walk and breathe without an oxygen tank, claimed Price and Price’s teenage son had accompanied him into the woods and left him there, forcing him to survive off pond water for more than two days.

The charge was dismissed on Aug. 20. On Thursday, Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen said his office had unanswered questions after charging Price and sent the case back to the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office.

“It’s been dropped for further investigation,” Rasmussen said. Of the case, he said, “I’m not certain it’s dead, but we didn’t feel comfortable proceeding the way it was.”

Attempts to find a working phone number for Price were unsuccessful, and his attorney, John Perry, did not respond Thursday to a message seeking comment.

According to court records, sheriff’s deputies visited Roberts’ home on July 22 after his landlord called authorities concerned about his safety. The landlord told deputies he hadn’t seen Roberts in a few days, the doors to his house were left open and Roberts’ dog was outside, which was unusual.

The sheriff’s office, in a Facebook post on Aug. 11, said Roberts’ vehicles “appeared to have been ransacked.”

While searching the residence, deputies heard faint calls for help and ventured down a mountainside to investigate. They found Roberts “shivering and covered in scrapes” and unable to walk or crawl, according to court records.

Roberts told deputies he had been in the woods since the evening of July 20, when Price and Price’s son visited. Price told Roberts he “wanted to show him something” at his house, and Price and his son held Roberts’ arms to assist him in walking, Roberts told deputies.

Then, Roberts told deputies, Price and his son “just left him there” and ignored his pleas as they walked away.

Price’s son had done some housework for Roberts, and Roberts suggested the pair tried to kill him because he had refused to pay the boy $10, according to court records. Roberts told deputies Price’s son “did not do a good job” at washing the dishes.

Price denied having anything to do with Roberts’ disappearance. Court records indicate he had called local hospitals looking for Roberts, and once checked out Roberts’ house with the landlord.

The sheriff’s office Facebook post, which remained online Thursday, did not name Roberts or Price, but it described the allegations against Price and suggested he is a “monster.” The post ended with the social media hashtag #MonstersExist.

Price’s son has not been charged in connection with Roberts’ disappearance.