Telford Man Among 2 Charged After Dumping Body At Hospital: DA

TELFORD, PA — A Telford resident is among two Montgomery County men who dumped a body at a local hospital following a drug deal that ended in a fatal overdose, police said.

The men knew the victim was overdosing but didn't call 911, and waited three hours before leaving the victim unresponsive outside the hospital, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

Joshua Benner, 28, of Telford, and Ronald Shock, 35, of Boyertown, both face charges of drug delivery resulting in death.

The incident occurred back on May 7, 2020. Pottstown Hospital staff found Morales unresponsive lying on a grassy area between the emergency room entrance and the parking lot at 2:45 a.m. on May 7, police said.

The victim, Ramon Morales, 35, had no identification, cellphone, or car keys and his clothes were soaking wet, despite the fact that it was not raining and had not rained recently, the DA's office said.

Morales could not be revived and was pronounced dead, police said. An autopsy by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office determined that Morales died of a drug overdose of fentanyl and cocaine. Two days later, on May 9, Morales was identified when a friend reported him missing to the Douglass Township Police.

Hospital video surveillance showed that at 2:22 a.m., a dark-colored hatchback vehicle was in the hospital parking lot. It was later identified as a Dodge Caliber registered to Benner.

Douglass Township Police located Morales’ work van parked outside of Shock's apartment, and in the same parking lot was Benner’s Dodge Caliber.

Through multiple interviews, audio recordings, and cell phone records, investigators said they found that Benner traveled with a friend to Philadelphia to buy cocaine and heroin/fentanyl (stamped “FLINTSTONES”) on May 6, 2020. According to the district attorney's report, that evening, Benner sold some of those same drugs to Shock and to the victim. Police said all three took the drugs around 11 p.m. at Shock’s apartment.

Between 11:30 p.m., when Morales overdosed, until 2:22 a.m. on May 7 when the car was seen on hospital surveillance, the defendants did not call 911 or seek medical help, despite discussing the fact that Morales was overdosing, the D.A.'s affidavit states.

Law enforcement said they found that while the victim was overdosing, the defendants tried to “wake him up” by putting him in the shower. The accused men cleaned Shock’s apartment to eliminate evidence, fabricated and rehearsed their story about what happened, discussed going to jail, and disposed of the victim’s car keys, cellphone, and wallet, the district attorney's report states.

A search warrant for Benner’s car found multiple baggies of heroin/fentanyl, including some labeled “FLINTSTONES,” cocaine, and other illegal drugs as well as drug paraphernalia, the report said.

Shock was unable to make $250,000 bail and was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing was set for Jan. 27.

Benner's bail was set at $99,000 cash. A preliminary hearing is also scheduled for Jan. 27.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Marlene Lang