Detective nabs predator accused of crimes in Macomb, Oakland
Shelby Township Police Det. Ronald Weiss is the first to admit detective work is usually not as exciting as it appears in television and movies.
It’s a lot of sitting at a desk in front of a computer, working the phones, pursuing leads and doing legwork, many of which lead to dead ends.
But amongst the decidedly unglamorous routine are cases to dig ones teeth into. This past summer, Weiss, 54, a 25-year member of the Shelby Township force, helped bring down a sexual predator committing his crimes in multiple communities, with his bulldog determination and a willingness to go above and beyond. And for his work, Weiss will receive a meritorious citation from the township.
In June, Weiss was assigned an eavesdropping/ surveilling an unclothed person case that allegedly occurred in the female restroom of the Shelby Township Costco store. The female victim was using the restroom toilet when she observed a cellphone appear from under the stall next to one she was using. Realizing someone was recording her, she exited the bathroom and waited for the suspect to emerge from his stall. When he did, she began yelling at him, and the suspect fled the bathroom and the store. The man, a black male with long dreadlocks, was known to Costco loss prevention personnel. He fled in a white Chevy Impala with no license plate but unique driver side damage.
Weiss discovered Costco received similar complaints from other victims in previous weeks, but none reported to police. He later found out the man had been dropping his phone on the ground next to women in aisles of the store, in a attempt to record video underneath their dresses. Using surveillance video of the masked suspect and his vehicle, Det. Weiss sent out a Macomb County Detectives Association Intelligence Bulletin to all police departments in the surrounding
communities and counties.
About a week later, Jaquelinn Fernandez, an officer with the Hazel Park Police Department, contacted Weiss. Fernandez stated while off duty, she might have seen the suspect and his vehicle near her Warren home. Fernandez followed the vehicle and took photos of the suspect standing near the suspect vehicle and sent them to Weiss.
“At that point, I’m thinking what are the chances of her seeing a guy in a white car? I’m thinking, ‘no way, this can’t be him,’” Weiss said. “She (Fernandez) drives by his house, she drives by where she thinks he went, and she saw him out there and took pictures of him as she was passing by. And I went, ‘Oh my gosh, that is him’ because he was still wearing the same hooded sweatshirt that he had on at the Costco. And the vehicle matched, right down to the damage on the rear bumper.”
Weiss discovered the suspect was Ricky Antoine Morgan Jr., 19, of Warren. He had two other prior convictions on his record, shoplifting and resisting and obstructing (with Shelby Township police), but no history of sex crimes.
Weiss began surveilling the residence. One of the main objectives at that point, he said, was to get an arrest of the subject to get their cellphone before they erased any evidence. It would be a key piece of evidence in attempting to convict the suspect. Weiss obtained an arrest warrant and a search warrant, and he and other officers followed
Morgan leaving a Meijer store in Warren at 10 Mile Road and Hoover, and arrested him a couple of blocks from his house.
Two cellphones and a laptop computer were recovered. One cellphone and the laptop were found to be stolen out of other jurisdictions. The cellphone Morgan used to secretly record the victim in the bathroom was located. After the phone was analyzed, Weiss learned approximately 20 women, some underage, were secretly recorded by Morgan while unclothed. Many of these videos were believed to have been taped in other unknown jurisdictions. Weiss had what he need for a conviction in Shelby Township, and he even obtained an additional warrant for the stolen property recovered during the search warrant.
That’s where the case could have ended. But with Weiss’ years of police work, his instincts told him if Morgan was doing this in Shelby Township and Macomb County, he was certainly doing it elsewhere. He thought about the victims, women and young girls who didn’t even know they had been videotaped by Morgan. He thought of his own family and his mother being potential victims.
“I would never want my mother, who’s a Costco member, going in there and being exploited the way this guy was doing it or a little girl,” Weiss said. “Investigating criminal sexual conduct cases has always been one of my passions here. A lot of these go unreported. There are usually a lot more victims. These charges that he is facing are just the tip of the iceberg.”
An investigation of the suspect’s phones revealed many recordings of other women, at other unknown locations, and video of his own family members at his home.
“With criminal behavior like this, if they’re doing it here, the perpetrator usually has a hard time controlling themselves. And looking at the cellphone footage that we had, he was spending hours in stores and bathrooms, sometimes he spent three hours at a bathroom down in Warren,” Weiss said. “I have concern for victims that have no idea this crime is even going on. Especially the underage girls and people who are going to the bathroom and expect to have some privacy when they go in there. This guy was taking advantage of that.
“What upset me the most was he was doing it to his own family,” Weiss added. “He was recording his own family members when they were at his house on the Fourth of July. There was a three-year old girl. He hid the phone in a garbage can in the bathroom.”
So for the next several months, Weiss continued to pursue the case, trying to figure out where the other videos may have been taken. By examining architecture, identifying store employees in videos and using other police tactics, Weiss was able to determine the suspect recorded videos at the Madison Heights Costco, the Warren Meijer store and inside his own home. The cases in Madison Heights had yet to be reported to police.
Weiss prepared reports and turned them over to the Madison Heights Police. Officers there identified three more victims and also obtained warrants for Morgan’s arrest. The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office praised Det. Weiss for his investigative skills and dedication.
Morgan’s case is moving slowly through the judicial system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is still awaiting a preliminary exam on the case that is expected to happen in February. The felony count carries a twoyear jail term.
As a result of his efforts, Sgt. Terry Hogan nominated Weiss for the meritorious citation. He will receive his award in March. Fernandez is also being considered for a department Letter of Citation.
“Ron is a self-managed, self-motivated individual. It is a such a benefit to be able to assign a case and know it will be completed at a high level, and we have that in Ron Weiss,” said Lt. Patrick Barnard, Weiss’ superior officer. “For officers that go above and beyond, this is a proper award. For Det. Weiss to go and identify other victims from other jurisdictions, that’s a great example of going above and beyond.”
“What separates this case is that it could have been stopped, but Det. Weiss continued. He continued off of what he had until the end,” Barnard added. “And other jurisdictions were able to level charges because of his work. He could have said some of these other locations were just unidentifiable, but he didn’t. He kept turning over stones and brought it to the conclusion that it was. Sometimes faithfulness to the little things can lead to the big event. Who knows how many other people this guy has done this to, and Ron’s the reason why we got him.”
Weiss was modest when asked about being honored. He knows many of his coworkers would have made similar efforts if they were assigned the case. But he is thankful for the award and appreciative of Chief Robert Shelide’s desire to recognize employees for their work.
“It’s always nice to be recognized. It’s kind of a selfless job,” Weiss said. “A lot of times you put a lot of work into things and you feel like you don’t get satisfaction on a portion of them. But this one was satisfying. And the chief is really good about recognizing us for what we do. I really enjoy doing my job.”