Richard Wershe Jr. arrested in Miami, accused of attacking girlfriend during sex

MIAMI, Fla. (CBS DETROIT) – Richard Wershe Jr., known as “White Boy Rick,” was arrested in Miami after he was accused of attacking his girlfriend in an argument during sex.

According to a May 9 police report from the Miami Police Department, the Detroit native, 53, allegedly attacked the woman after he said another woman’s name during sex. The woman told police that Wershe grabbed her arm as she tried to get out of the bed, causing a bruise to her left bicep, and took her diamond bracelet and necklace that he bought her,

The woman reported throwing a shoe at the Wershe but missed, and he punched her in the “left breast area causing a bruise,” according to the police report. The woman explained that the incident happened on May 6 but she waited to report it due to problems with immigration. 

A witness told police she did not see Wershe snatching the jewelry but saw him hitting the woman.

Police say Wershe came to the station looking for his car keys while the woman was there to file the report. He was arrested on robbery by snatching and battery charges.

At the time of his arrest, police say he carried keys to a Lamborghini, a gold Rolex watch, two gold chains, a set of AirPods and nearly $11,000 in cash.

Wershe was sentenced in 1988 at age 17 for drug dealing. He served roughly 30 years in prison in Michigan before his release in 2017, followed by a few more years in a Florida prison for an unrelated crime.

He filed a lawsuit 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.

Wershe’s story was the basis of the 2018 film “White Boy Rick,” starring Matthew McConaughey and Richie Merritt. The title referred to Wershe’s nickname in his younger days, a nickname he dislikes.