An Idaho man was accused of murder. Now his bail has been set at $4.4 million
Bail for a 20-year-old Meridian man who was charged with second-degree murder in September has been set at $4.4 million after he’s been charged with 10 additional crimes — nine of which are felonies.
Timmothy Morgan was arrested on Sept. 5 by officers near Sixth and Grove streets after allegedly shooting and killing a 28-year-old Boise resident, according to police. Lamont Rogers died at the scene and had multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Ada County Coroner’s Office.
The most severe of the felonies, aside from the murder charge, include two felony rape charges and two aggravated assault charges, according to online court records. As of Thursday, he remains in custody at Ada County Jail.
Most recently, Morgan is accused of intimidating a witness who was listed on the prosecution’s witness list while in custody.
Due to the alleged witness intimidation and the severity of the charges against Morgan, Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Robert Bleazard asked District Judge Nancy Baskin during a Wednesday hearing to deny Morgan the ability to bail out at all. Bleazard said that “such violations constituted a threat to the integrity of the judicial system.”
Baskin denied Bleazard’s request and said it was unnecessary, given he’s unlikely to post the bond.
Morgan is also facing two enhancement counts for use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony for both the murder and assault cases, according to online records.
The charges are connected to five different incidents that occurred from April to December, though none of the charges were filed until after the September shooting, according to court documents obtained by the Statesman.
It’s unclear if the September arrest helped prosecutors discover the additional charges. The Idaho Statesman has reached out to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office for comment.
In April, Morgan allegedly raped someone, according to court documents. Morgan was indicted by Ada County’s Grand Jury on Jan. 19
In June, the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office said Morgan fired a handgun at a vehicle while two individuals were in the car and “created a well-founded fear,” according to court documents.
On Sept. 5 — the same day as the shooting — Morgan was charged with two drug-related felonies along with a misdemeanor.
Morgan has pleaded not guilty to eight of the charges, according to online records. The witness intimidation, murder and one of the enhancement charges have not yet had a plea hearing.
Morgan’s next hearing in the murder case is set for Feb. 16, according to online court records.
Witness intimidation allegations
Sometime in December, while still in custody, Morgan allegedly intimidated a witness by publishing or having another person publish names, addresses or contact information of witnesses involved in the aggravated assault case, according to documents filed by the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutors said he or someone on his behalf sent messages to the witnesses that they shouldn’t cooperate.
Bleazard said Morgan told friends in calls and text messages that “it’s important to put out other people’s or witnesses personal information as a means of making clear that it’s not OK to talk — that it’s not OK to testify.”
Judge Baskin asked Morgan’s attorney, Daniel Dean, on Wednesday if they had investigated the witness intimidation claims. Dean responded that his “office did not purposefully nor incidentally release any protected information to Mr. Morgan.”
“I understand where the state is coming from — but from our view, it does not rise to the level of witness intimidation,” Dean said. He added that the information Morgan released to friends was before he was in custody.
Bleazard said the piece of paper Morgan released had an unredacted watermark on the page that is only released to the defense counsel.
Dean said he was unaware of that claim and plans to double-check with his staff.
“It was very concerning to the court,” Baskin said.
