The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office has refiled charges against a man accused of drugging a woman, raping her and abandoning her in the woods near Randle in September 2022.
As of March 13, the defendant, Ryan Anthony Justice, 36, of Randle, again faces a second-degree rape charge for allegedly giving a woman drugs, raping her, then driving her out to the woods near Randle and leaving her there on Sept. 11, 2022. He pleaded not guilty to the charge on Tuesday, April 16.
The case was initially filed in October 2022, but was dismissed without prejudice August 2023 due to DNA results from the victim that “indicate that the defendant was not a contributing party,” according to a dismissal motion filed on Aug. 16, 2023, which stated, “After further review of the evidence in this case, the state moves to dismiss this case without prejudice so that further testing and further interviews of other witnesses can be conducted.”
A judge ruled to dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled in the same court of law at a later date.
An explanation on why the case was refiled was not included in publicly available Lewis County Superior Court documents on Tuesday.
According to charging documents filed in October 2022 and refiled in March 2023, a citizen on a hunting trip was driving down Forest Road 25 toward state Route 131 near Randle on Sept. 11, 2022, when he reportedly observed a woman, who had what the citizen described as a “blurred look,” walking on the roadway. The citizen asked if she needed help, and she didn’t answer, so he drove away, according to court documents.
Later that day, the same citizen was driving back up the road and saw the woman lying near the road. He stopped and again asked if she needed help, but “the woman was incoherent and not making any sense,” according to court documents. The citizen called 911 and tried to help her into his truck, but she reportedly left to go lie in the grass and then walked into a stranger’s residence in the 100 block of Skinner Road, where she laid down on a couch. A Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy contacted the woman at that residence. When asked what was going on, “the woman said ‘Ry-Ry’ gave her some ‘shrooms’ and she wasn’t feeling well,” according to court documents.
The deputy reportedly “knew from his law enforcement experience in Lewis County that Ry-Ry was a nickname for Ryan Anthony Justice,” according to court documents.
Medical aid was called to treat the woman for an apparent overdose, and she was ultimately transferred to Providence Centralia Hospital.
While at the hospital, the woman reportedly disclosed that she had been raped.
Justice had reportedly asked the woman if she wanted to “drive around and get some beer,” which they did, but then Justice reportedly asked her “if he could run to his house. She said that was fine,” according to court documents.
Upon arriving at Justice’s trailer in the Cispus area, Justice allegedly “pulled a handful of ‘shrooms’ and told her to take them, which she did,” according to court documents. He then allegedly gave her an alcoholic beverage to “wash the shrooms down.”
A short time later, the woman reportedly told Justice she wanted to leave. Justice then allegedly “grabbed her, pulled her into the bed and held her down by her arms” before raping her, according to court documents.
Then, “out of nowhere, Justice got a phone call” and “stopped what he was doing to answer the call,” according to court documents. The woman again told Justice she needed to leave, “and he said that was fine,” found his car keys and allegedly drove the woman out to a forested area, where he stopped.
“She got out and started walking down the road. Justice drove away,” according to court documents. The woman told law enforcement she tried flagging down motorists, but was only contacted by the hunter who ultimately called 911.
While bail was set at $200,000 for the initial 2022 case, Justice was issued a summons notice for the re-filed case on March 15 requiring him to appear in person for an April 16 preliminary hearing.
Bail is set at $100,000 unsecured.
Trial is scheduled to begin in July.
Justice pleaded guilty to an unrelated attempt to elude charge on Aug. 21, 2023, and was sentenced Oct. 4 to three to six weeks in a drug offender sentencing alternative inpatient treatment program.
His last review hearing was held Feb. 29 and his program termination date is Sept. 4, 2025, according to court documents.
In that case, Justice fled from a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was attempting to arrest Justice for a federal probation violation on Aug. 2, 2022.
The probation violation stemmed from a 2016 federal conviction, where Justice and two co-defendants were charged for harvesting maple trees approximately 50 times in 2011 and 2012 and selling them to the Winlock-based company J&L Tonewoods, owned by Harold Clause Kupers, who was also charged.
Kupers and his company were accused of selling the wood to other companies both inside and outside of Washington for more than $800,000.
All four parties entered guilty pleas and were sentenced in U.S. District Court in 2016.
The case was notable for being the first time a court has prosecuted someone for violating the Lacey Act for trading illegal wood products in the boundaries of the U.S., according to previous Chronicle reporting.
