Muni Rider Mistakenly Accused of Stealing iPhone Released from Jail

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Watch out behind you!

​We read about crooks snatching cellphones from the hands of Muni riders all of the time, but 26-year-old Ronnie Morrisette isn't one of those thieves.

After spending more than three months behind bars, a jury acquitted the San Francisco man on charges of robbery, assault, and false imprisonment.

On Aug. 11 around 2 a.m., Morrisette was standing on the steps of the 14 Muni bus waiting to exit when another man on the bus snatched an iPhone out of the hands of passenger Rebecca Olarte, and ran off of the bus. As he rushed out, the thief knocked Morrisette's phone and iPod onto the ground. As Olarte ran after the thief, she crashed into Morrisette as he was picking up his own belongings from the ground, according to the Public Defender's Office.

Amid the chaos, Olarte grabbed Morrisette's iPhone, presumably thinking it was her own. The chaotic scene became more confusing being that Morrisette had no idea her phone had just been stolen -- she thought Olarte, who was holding his phone, was the thief, so he struggled with her to get his phone back.

Meanwhile, the real thief had escaped into the night, cellphone in hand.

Morrisette was later arrested on suspicion of stealing Olarte's phone and booked into San Francisco County Jail where he remained until his trial ended Nov. 16.

It's hard to retain details after a night of drinking, but one thing Olarte could remember is that she was a little drunk when the crime happened. Perhaps, that is why she thought Morrisette was the crook who had snatched her phone. Her story was less convincing when she testified during the trial that she knew Morrisette had said something to her during the cellphone struggle, but she couldn't remember exactly what he had said.

You don't have to be a lawyer to know that doesn't make for a good case.

Meanwhile, witnesses testified that Morrisette was dressed in bright, flashy colors that night; he was in a happy mood, making friends, and sharing drinks while on the bus -- not something you would do if you were about to commit a crime. There was no evidence that Morrisette had ever spoken to the thief while on the bus nor had he gotten onto the bus with him, according to the Public Defender's Office.

Investigators also testified that when they retrieved Morrisette's property held by the jail, it included a cellphone charger, an iPhone charger, and headphones, proving he did in fact have those items while on the bus. However, during the struggle, his cellphone was mysteriously lost and never recovered.

"Ronnie didn't know the thief who took Ms. Olarte's phone and had nothing to do with it," said Peter Santina, deputy public defender. "But because he was young and black, just like the thief, Ronnie was accused of involvement."

But now he is home with his family -- just in time for Thanksgiving.

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