ACAB: Houston park ranger targets gay men for robbery.
Posted by
Qale (aka Qale)
Jun 13 '24, 16:36
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A Houston Parks Department ranger is accused of using his uniform and a gun to take money from a gay man at a city park, and may have targeted more people, a Harris County prosecutor said Thursday.
Joey Ellis, 23, of Webster, was arrested Wednesday and charged with official oppression after the Tuesday night encounter in Cullen Park in northwest Houston.
Ellis made his first appearance in Harris County courtroom on Thursday, when a prosecutor revealed more details about his alleged scheme, and indicated investigators were looking into reports of more potential victims.
Kimberly Smith, an assistant district attorney in the DA's public corruption division, said Ellis is accused of "abusing his authority and abusing his badge."
Ellis is accused of approaching two men who were inside a parked car around 11 p.m. at Cullen Park, Smith said. He demanded the men get out and said something about knowing what gay men do together in the park, Smith said. Ellis threatened to arrest the men and demanded $300, Smith said. He was wearing a gun at the time but didn't take it out, Smith said.
One of the men handed over cash and transferred more money to Ellis using a CashApp, Smith said.
Ellis then forced one of the men to strip off his clothes and made him film a confession video about a crime the man did not commit, Smith said. He also is alleged to have forced the man to use an app to try to convince other gay men to come to the park, Smith said.
The man eventually managed to run away and called police from a gas station, Smith said. Ellis was arrested early Wednesday morning.
Following reports about his initial arrests, Smith said prosecutors learned about another person with a similar complaint about a park ranger in Cullen Park. She said investigators were looking into the complaint and encouraged people who may have been victims to contact authorities.
"We're just asking that if anyone recognizes this defendant, if anyone feels that they've been a victim as well, please come forward and make a report," Smith said.
Smith described the charge against Ellis as a "hybrid misdemeanor." The prosecution will be conducted as a felony case, but the punishment Ellis could receive under the official oppression is limited to jail time or fines based on a misdemeanor and not a more serious crime. It's possible Ellis could be charged with other crimes, Smith said.
"This defendant was receiving CashApp payments from all these individuals, in exchange essentially for threatening to send them to jail for crimes that don't even exist," Smith said.
Ellis was on the job at the time of the alleged shakedown, but was supposed to be at Hermann Park, Smith said. He also wasn't supposed to be carrying a gun on duty, Smith said.
Ellis was released on bond Wednesday and appeared in court Thursday with his defense attorney, William Weston Rucker. Ellis didn't say anything while 208th District Court Judge Beverly Armstrong decided on the condition of his release, which includes a prohibition on travel outside the Houston area and an order to stay out of city parks.
After the hearing, Rucker said Ellis was an “upstanding citizen” who had never been in legal trouble before.
“He strongly contests these charges, and we think as the evidence unfolds, it will be seen that it was a mistake to bring these cases,” Rucker said.
A parks department spokesman on Wednesday said Ellis had been taken off the department's work schedule. Ellis in court said he was unemployed.
He is scheduled to return to court in August.
The accusations against Ellis were alarming to Avery Belyue, the CEO of the Montrose Center, an LGBT advocacy group.
“Our community continues to be targeted,” Belyue said. “The work is not yet done.”
Belyue drew a parallel between the arrest and the celebration of Pride Month, which draws its origins to the Stonewall Riots, a clash between gay people and uniformed police officers in New York in 1969. There’s long been a distrust between LGBT people and police because of historic discrimination, Belyue said.
The Montrose Center works with victims of sexual violence and hate crimes, and can help victims contact police, Belyue said.
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