HOUSTON – Prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor charge against a Houston rabbi accused of grabbing a woman as she walked in the Galleria area several months ago.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said it had reviewed the evidence in the case and decided to dismiss the charge.
Police arrested Ranon Teller, 53, on an unlawful restraint charge in late August.
A 40-year-old woman told Houston police Teller came up behind her, grabbed her around the waist and tried to run off with her in the 5400 block of Westheimer on Sunday, Aug. 22. The woman said she broke free of his grasp and sought help from a driver nearby.
Teller was gone from the scene by the time officers arrived, but was found later that evening when officers were called to a hotel near the Galleria. The hotel reported Teller, who refused to leave, was harassing guests.
Officers connected Teller to the woman’s earlier report and arrested Teller.
While Teller was jailed, Hatzalah of Houston, a nonprofit EMS organization, announced that the rabbi hadn’t been seen in some time. The group scoured the Galleria area in search of Teller. In their announcement, Hatzalah of Houston warned against approaching the rabbi if spotted, stating that “this is a sensitive and delicate situation.” During the search, Houston police even issued a missing persons flyer for Teller.
The group called off their search around a day after they reported Teller missing. He was released on bond soon after.
Per investigators, Teller was booked into jail as “name unknown” because he would not provide officers with his name upon his arrest. Police only realized the man they had detained for unlawful restraint and the missing rabbi were one and the same when congregants from Teller’s synagogue, Brith Shalom, shared a missing persons flyer.
Teller joined Brith Shalom in 2005. As of this writing, the synagogue’s website lists Teller as on “on leave.”