Former Drama Major Charged As Cop Impersonator
Police: Ricks Out On Bail In Previous Arapahoe County Cases
POSTED: 10:24 am MDT April 5, 2005
UPDATED: 6:12 pm MDT April 5, 2005
DENVER -- An Aurora fast-food worker is accused of duping women by posing as a cop, chiropractor, massage therapist and physician in order to gain sexual favors.Michael T. Ricks, 45, was arrested Monday on two counts of impersonating an officer and his bond was set at $1 million. Officials say that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Ricks had faced 33 counts in Douglas County, including multiple sexual assault counts and impersonation of a doctor. The charges involved 10 victims. However, Rick reached a plea bargain on March 28 and the 33 charges were reduced to two: felony sexual assault and misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact.It was not immediately clear why the Arapahoe District Attorney's Office plea-bargained that many serious charges down to just two.Police said when the former drama major was out on bail in that case he began preying on other women in Denver and the metro area, posing as an undercover cop. Even the Denver vice squad began hearing about a man claiming to be a police officer who threatened women with arrest unless they agreed to have sex with him.One woman told The Denver Post that Ricks approached her while she was eating breakfast at a fast-food restaurant."He told me he was Denver vice and he busts prostitutes," the 28-year-old woman told the newspaper.She said Ricks flashed a badge. She had consensual sex with him twice in his car, she said and now she feels used.Police are hoping other women will come forward with information about him.Ricks is married and has a 5-month-old baby. He worked at the Arby's at 4550 S. Buckley Way in Aurora.Anyone with information about Ricks is asked to call Denver police at (720) 913-2000.
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