RF man facing life in prison for shooting neighbor

Woman found dead from gunshot outside front door

By Sarah Nigbor
Posted 4/26/23

A River Falls man is facing life in prison after apparently shooting his neighbor in the wee hours of Monday morning.

Michael Dillon Price, 31, was ordered to pay $750,000 cash bail Tuesday, April …

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RF man facing life in prison for shooting neighbor

Woman found dead from gunshot outside front door

Posted

A River Falls man is facing life in prison after apparently shooting his neighbor in the wee hours of Monday morning.

Michael Dillon Price, 31, was ordered to pay $750,000 cash bail Tuesday, April 25 after being charged with felony first-degree intentional homicide in St. Croix County Circuit Court. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

According to the complaint:

River Falls police responded at 12:26 a.m. to 551 Bandle St. Unit A for a possible homicide. Officers located resident Amy Cathleen Theis, 47, River Falls, dead in front of her residence with an apparent gunshot wound to the head. She was lying facedown on her sidewalk/lawn just outside the front door to her home. The home’s front door was damaged and the window was shattered outward with a large amount of glass on the ground.

The suspect was identified as Dillon, Theis’s neighbor at 583 Bandle St. Unit D. Their homes face one another and have a shared parking area, part of a multi-unit townhome structure. When Price arrived on the scene, he appeared to be intoxicated and made statements to law enforcement leading them to believe that he may have been involved in Theis’s death. He talked about having a gun and his concealed carry permit and asked officers not to shoot him. While detained, he said something to the affect of, “So someone got punched in the face, who cares.” He kept commenting on the number of officers present and requested an attorney.

Officers applied for and received search warrants for both residences. Inside Theis’s home, officers found ammunition for a 9mm caliber firearm and evidence that she had been shot. They also found four live rounds near her entryway, plus two spent/fired rounds. A bullet hole was located in the living room wall. It appeared that a 9mm firearm was fired twice, with one shot going into the residence’s wall and one going into Theis’s head. Police also found the same ammunition in Price’s driveway near the garage door and on his bedroom dresser.

Police confirmed Price owns a 9mm Glock 19 pistol, purchased at a gun shop in Hudson on March 1, 2022. In Price’s residence, officers also located a large amount of glass that appeared to have come from Theis’s storm door.

Police obtained security footage from a neighbor in which a suspected gunshot is heard at 11:36 p.m. About five minutes later, a black sedan similar in appearance to Price’s car can be seen leaving the area at a high rate of speed. It later returns at 12:35 a.m., which is when Price made contact with law enforcement at the scene.

Theis lived alone, according to family members. Price lives with one roommate, who police interviewed. The roommate said Price has a problem with alcohol and drugs. Police arrested Price at 7:22 a.m. and transported him to St. Croix County Jail.

He is scheduled to appear in court for a status conference on May 3 in Hudson.

shooting, gunshot, death, Amy Theis, Michael Price, River Falls, Wisconsin