Atlanta- Adult store owner Michael Morrison may have gone to federal prison for tax evasion, but he’s still a businessman.
And he draws the line when ex-girlfriends try to steal sex toys and pornographic DVDs from his chain of metro Atlanta stores, according to an Atlanta police report.
Morrison, 40, got out of a lockup in February after spending 30 months in a federal prison in Miami, rubbing shoulders with the likes of former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, who also was serving time for tax evasion.
The store owner is a familiar face to metro Atlanta zoning commissions and communities, some of which have resisted his attempts to open stores.
But, upon his release, Morrison’s personal life has been turbulent, too.
He and his former girlfriend, Diana Maphet, 22, of Marietta, couldn’t rekindle their old flame, leading to some relationship drama like what happened Friday.
Morrison and Maphet had an unpleasant conversation at one of his stores, Inserection, at 1739 Cheshire Bridge Road in northeast Atlanta. They have different versions about what happened.
Morrison told police that Maphet got angry and tried to make off with two sex toys and a pornographic video valued at $156, according to an Atlanta police report.
“She is stealing stuff!” a customer yelled, according to the report.
Morrison caught up with Maphet just outside the front door, the report said.
“So I grab her and say, ‘No, you can’t take those things,’” Morrison said in a telephone interview Thursday. “I don’t think she even knew what she was taking. I think it was more of a ‘Screw you!’ kind of thing.”
The fight turned physical – Maphet told police that she was talking to Morrison at his business, and he became enraged and hit and restrained her when she tried to leave – and drew the attention of people in the parking lot and at a nearby restaurant. Someone called the police.
In the end, neither wanted to press charges against the other.
“I just got out of jail,” said Morrison, who says he is now on probation. “I don’t want to send anybody away – especially someone who was near and dear to me.”
When reached by phone, Maphet said she was busy and asked the reporter to call back in an hour. She could not be reached later.