Robert Ernst Price

An Arlington man’s trial in connection with the shooting death of his boyfriend in 2020 near Tyler State Park has been postponed to late January.

Robert Ernst Price, 52, is accused of causing the death of Nathaniel Charles Snell, 32, of Arlington, on July 20, 2020, at the Exxon Food Mart convenience store in the 14900 block of FM 14.

Judicial records show the jury trial is currently set for Jan. 24 in the 7th District Court. He has been in the Smith County Jail since July 23, 2020, on a $500,000 bond.

Price was offered a 40-year sentence in a plea agreement in March. The sentence was initially set at 45 years but was slightly reduced, the prosecution said.

In response, Price told 7th District Court Judge Kerry Russell he would rather have a jury trial and reject the plea deal. 

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, security camera footage shows a vehicle in the parking lot of the store early on July 20 last year when a gunshot is heard. A man matching Snell’s description jumps out of the vehicle passenger side and runs into the store.

Items from Snell’s pockets later led the Smith County Sheriff’s Office to an Arlington neighborhood. Officers searched an Arlington residence, where they found a vehicle similar to the one seen in the convenience store parking lot, the affidavit stated.

Snell and Price’s roommate in Arlington said the pair were arguing early on July 20 after Price found child pornography on Snell’s phone and later meth paraphernalia in his bedroom, according to the police document.

The decision was made for Snell to stop living in the home. The roommate said he saw Price sleeping alone on July 21 in the Arlington house, the affidavit read.

The document stated Price was seen crying and took Snell’s belongings to a Goodwill donation box.