Two Charged After Dumping Body At Pottstown Hospital: DA

POTTSTOWN, PA — Two men are charged with felonies related to the overdose death of a man left on the lawn of Pottstown Hospital last May.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Pottstown Police Chief Mick Markovich today announced the charges, saying the men knew the man was overdosing but didn't call 911 and waited three hours before leaving the victim unresponsive outside the hospital.

Joshua Benner, 28, of Telford, and Ronald Shock, 35, of Boyertown, are charged with Drug Delivery Resulting in Death related to the May 7, 2020 overdose death of Ramon Morales, 35, who was found dead on the grass outside of Pottstown Hospital.

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 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 district attorney's report said.

Morales could not be revived and was pronounced dead, the report 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.

Pottstown Police and Montgomery County Detectives jointly investigated the death.

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.

The search also found a wet T-shirt in the car, according to the D.A.'s report.

"Instead of calling 911 to summon medical help for someone who they knew was overdosing, these defendants waited approximately three hours before dumping his body outside of a hospital after it was too late for anyone to help Mr. Morales," said Steele.

"Ramon Morales died from these deadly drugs that were sold to him by a dealer and then their casual disregard for his life caused him to suffer and die right in front of these two defendants while they did nothing. We will seek justice for Mr. Morales," the district attorney said.

Shock is charged with Drug Delivery Resulting in Death, Conspiracy, Possession with Intent to Deliver, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and related charges. He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Edward C. Kropp Sr., who set bail at $250,000 cash.

Shock was unable to make bail and was remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. A preliminary hearing was set for 8 a.m., Jan. 27 before Judge Kropp.

Benner is charged with Drug Delivery Resulting in Death, Conspiracy, Possession with Intent to Deliver, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, and related charges. Benner, incarcerated at Montgomery County Correctional Facility on an unrelated charge, was video arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Edward C. Kropp Sr., who set bail at $99,000 cash.

A preliminary hearing was set for 8:45 a.m., Jan. 27, 2021, before Judge Kropp.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Lauren Marvel, Captain of the Pottstown Community Justice Unit, and Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Mills, who is assigned to the Narcotics Unit.