'White Boy Rick' arrested, accused of punching woman after saying wrong name during sex

Richard Wershe Jr., better known as "White Boy Rick," has been arrested again and is facing a felony and a misdemeanor charge in Miami.

Miami police arrested Wershe, 53, on Tuesday, after his girlfriend of four months reported that he attacked her during a fight on Saturday, according to WPLG-TV, an ABC affiliate in Miami. The woman said she waited to report the attack due to her immigration status.

The fight took place in his condo, after Wershe uttered another woman's name during sex, police said.

Officials told WPLG that when Wershe's girlfriend tried to get out of bed, "he forcefully grabbed her left arm and snatched a diamond bracelet and necklace that he had bought her. She managed to pull away, throw a shoe at him and miss."

A witness told police that Wershe then caught up to his girlfriend and punched her "in the chest," according to the news outlet. "The police report doesn’t specify who the witness was or why he or she was present."

Wershe has been charged with robbery by sudden snatching and misdemeanor battery. Robbery by sudden snatching is a third-degree felony. He has been released from Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond.

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Who is 'White Boy Rick'?

Wershe, a Detroit east-side native, became an FBI informant at 14. His assistance resulted in the arrest of multiple Detroit drug lords, but by 16, he was no longer needed by the FBI and turned to selling drugs himself.

In 1987, at age 17, Wershe was arrested by Detroit police and a jury convicted him of possession with intent to deliver more than 650 grams of cocaine. Officials said he stashed 8 kilos of cocaine and nearly $30,000.

Wershe served 32 years in prison and was released in 2020. Since his release, he has started his own marijuana brand, The Eighth. The company's name references the U.S. Constitution's 8th Amendment, which protects against imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments.

His life inspired a movie starring Matthew McConaughey and Richie Merritt in 2018, as well as a documentary directed by Shawn Rech in 2017.

Wershe filed a lawsuit against the FBI and Detroit police for $100 million in 2021, alleging that his troubles in the 1980s were related to the pressures of pleasing local police and federal agents, who used him as an informant and repeatedly sent him into drug dens. The lawsuit remains ongoing.

Contact Nour Rahal: nrahal@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Police: 'White Boy Rick' arrested, accused of punching girlfriend