Hate crime, sex assault charges filed against park ranger accused of targeting gay men at parks
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston park ranger accused of luring gay men to the park, sexually assaulting them, and robbing them is facing new charges as officials say more victims have come forward.
Two new charges were filed against 33-year-old Joey Lamar Ellis, who appeared before a judge Monday morning. He now faces three total charges: one sexual assault charge and two charges of official oppression. Prosecutors have also added a hate crime enhancement to the sexual assault charge because he allegedly targeted his victims based on their sexuality.
According to prosecutors, one of the alleged incidents happened at Memorial Park, while another at Cullen Park, where he allegedly forced a man to strip naked in June.
When the allegations against him came to light, he only had one charge of official oppression.
In June's incident, the alleged victim, Joshua Beede, told ABC13 he was asleep in his car when Ellis knocked on his window wearing a park ranger uniform. Beede said Ellis threatened to arrest him if he didn't give up his cash or take off his clothes, making it known he had a gun in his pocket.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Houston park ranger accused of targeting gay men at Cullen Park for money
Ellis also allegedly demanded Beede use a dating app to lure other men to the park so they, too, could presumably be robbed. Eventually, Beede said he gave Ellis money and went along with it until he could get away to call 911.
"I was, like, fearful for my life, so I was doing everything he said," Beede explained. "He knew what he was doing though. He's probably done it before. He didn't look nervous doing it."
ABC13 spoke with the district attorney about the case following Monday's court appearance.
"We had one charge, and that was with one complainant," Asst. District Attorney Kimberly Smith said. "Since then, we've had additional victims come forward, and we're so grateful to them because without their bravery - without their courage - this would not be possible."
Smith said they believe there are additional victims, and more charges will be filed against Ellis.
"He's showing up at these parks where he's not assigned to work. But he's showing up to these other locations where he'll find a single male or maybe two males, approach them, and coerce them into either performing a sexual act or giving him money," Smith added. "We do believe that this defendant is targeting these individuals because of their ... sexuality."
SEE PREVIOUS STORY: Houston park ranger accused of targeting gay men appears before a judge, who grants him $30K bond
However, Ellis' court-appointed attorney pushed back against the charges.
"He denies this wholeheartedly," defense attorney Ryan Fremuth said on Monday. "Mr. Ellis has no criminal history. He appears to be a very good and respected man. He has a very close family network, and he's denying these allegations wholeheartedly."
Shortly after the alleged incident in June, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department confirmed they were notified about the park ranger's arrest and released the following statement:
"The Houston Parks and Recreation Department has been made aware of the arrest of Urban Park Ranger Joey Ellis. The Department has removed him from the work schedule at this time and the public can be assured that appropriate measures are being taken while HPD investigates."
A judge set a $75,000 bond for the new sexual assault charge and $60,000 for each official oppression charge, totaling $195,000.
Ellis was reportedly out on bond from the first charge, but the district attorney's office got a tip that he was in Louisiana with his family, where he was not allowed to be under his bond conditions.
The judge decided he could go live in Louisiana with his family but be on house arrest there.
