A Randle man wanted on an outstanding felony out of Lewis County Superior Court for a rape charge and community custody violations was arrested Wednesday after Joint Narcotics Enfrocement Team (JNET) detectives and Centralia Police Department officers located him at a downtown Centralia business.
Ryan A. Justice, 36, was charged in April for allegedly drugging a woman, raping her and abandoning her in the woods near Randle in September 2022. A Lewis County Superior Court judge issued a no-bail bench warrant for Justice’s arrest on Aug. 9 after he failed to appear for a hearing.
JNET detectives reportedly began looking for Justice earlier this month, according to a Thursday news release.
JNET detectives and Centralia police officers responded to a Flock Safety camera system alert for Justice’s vehicle in the Centralia area at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 27, according to the news release and Centralia police call logs. They reportedly located him at a business in the 200 block of South Pearl Street.
He allegedly resisted arrest and reached for a concealed pistol during his encounter with police, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was also arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm.
He also reportedly had 20 grams of meth and a handgun on his person at the time of his arrest.
After a positive alert on Justice’s vehicle by K9 Havik, JNET detectives obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and recovered approximately 3.5 pounds of meth, one pound of marijuana, scales and ammunition, according to the JNET news release.
He was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 8:20 p.m. on Nov. 27, according to jail records.
Justice’s rape 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 has not been included in publicly available Lewis County Superior Court documents.
When the case was refiled, a judge ruled to allow Justice to remain out of custody on $100,000 unsecured bail for the duration of his case. Unsecured bail allows defendants to remain out of custody without posting bail so long as they follow their conditions of release, which include abiding by any court orders and appearing for all mandatory hearings. If the defendant violated their conditions of release, they are remanded into custody and required to pay the full bail amount.
