Charges Dropped Against Gaithersburg Gym Teacher Found Sleeping in Locker Room

Charges of trespassing and burglary have been dismissed against a former gym teacher in February who was found sleeping inside a locker room at Redland Middle School, The Gazette reported Thursday.

Benjamin Morey, 35, of Gaithersburg, was arrested on Feb. 15 after police found him sleeping on a pile of gym mats at 2:30 a.m., Patch has reported.

According to court records, he was injured in a scuffle with police, who released a K9 and physically restrained him.

Police allege that Morey, of the unit block of Hyacitnth Court in Gaithersburg, was injured during a scuffle with officers and a police dog after they woke him up. He was treated at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital for a cut on his thigh and puncture wounds on his leg, according to the records.

Morey’s lawyer said Morey had gone to school with the intention of sleeping there, according to The Gazette. Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office spokesman Ramon Korionoff reportedly told the newspaper:

“Upon further review of the facts in the case and based on the fact that the defendant was allowed to be at the school, it was determined to be in the best interest of all parties to refrain from pursuing a prosecution of this matter.” 

Morey had been placed on administrative leave and is working at another school, the Gazette reports.

The Gazette’s story is posted online, at Gazette.net.