Jury selection starts in theft trial for man who served as Wichita Falls police officer
Jury selection began Monday for the trial of a man who served as a Wichita Falls police officer and is accused of theft, according to court documents.
Ralph Ryan Piper, 47, faces trial this week in 30th District Court for a charge of theft from $20,000 to $100,000, according to court documents.
Piper is accused of unlawfully appropriating money in connection with a Feb. 10, 2014, incident involving AT&T, according to allegations in court documents.
The third-degree felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Piper has requested the judge assess his punishment in case of a guilty verdict.
Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A more serious charge of money laundering $200,000 or more on March 20, 2014, in connection with an alleged kickback scheme was dismissed Monday at the request of Special Prosecutor Ted Steinke, court records show.
The first-degree felony is punishable by up to life in prison.
The Times Record News reached out to city officials Monday for information about Piper's current status regarding the Wichita Falls Police Department.
Piper has been suspended without pay from the WFPD for six years.
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Not much information is available about the nature of the charge still standing against Piper in case records.
A Wichita County grand jury handed down the latest indictment against him July 31, 2019, with one count of now-dismissed money laundering and one count of theft.
Piper was booked into Wichita County Jail Aug. 7, 2019, and has been free on $50,000 in cash bonds, according to online jail records.
The state's witness list includes Texas Ranger Toby Catlin; Louis Oliveri, AT&T lead investigator-asset protection; Richard Redford of Aspen Elevator Co.; George Michael Wade and Christy Lynn Wade, court documents show.
A Nov. 2, 2022, letter from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to the Wichita County District Clerk's Office sought information regarding an Aug. 6, 2019, arrest of Piper, court documents show.
TCOLE oversees the licensing of peace officers and jailers, and Piper was registered as a licensed peace officer, jailer or telecommunicator, court documents show.
The trial continued Tuesday at the Wichita County Courthouse. Check online at www.timesrecordnews.com for the latest information on this story.
Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Jury selection begins in theft trial for man who served as officer
