Plea deal in robbery case rejected | Defendant also accused of supplying fentanyl to woman who almost died

CONNER DOUGLAS MORGAN
CONNER DOUGLAS MORGAN

TEXARKANA, Texas -- A plea deal in a prior felony case was rejected Monday by a district judge in Bowie County for a man accused of selling drugs to a woman who nearly died of an overdose in December.

At the time of his arrest Dec. 22 for delivery of a controlled substance resulting in serious bodily injury, Conner Douglas Morgan, 21, was free on $75,000 bond in a felony robbery case. Morgan pleaded guilty Dec. 14 to a lesser theft charge in the robbery case and was scheduled to be sentenced Monday with a recommendation for probation.

Morgan's most recent arrest was cited by 5th District Judge Bill Miller as cause to reject the plea offer in the robbery case. Miller allowed Texarkana lawyer Butch Dunbar to withdraw the plea of guilty Morgan entered to a lesser, state jail felony theft charge in December.

Miller said he is not reinstating Morgan's bond in the robbery case either. That means he will remain in jail while that case proceeds.

Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter said she isn't sure if Morgan's newer case will be presented for possible indictment at the Bowie County grand jury's next meeting in February.

Morgan was arrested Dec. 22 in connection with a Texarkana, Texas, woman who was treated for a reported fentanyl overdose the night of Dec. 19, less than a week after Morgan pleaded guilty in the prior felony case. Morgan has been charged with delivery of a controlled substance resulting in serious bodily injury.

Morgan allegedly sold three blue pills stamped M30 to the woman for $30 apiece the evening of Dec. 19, according to a probable cause affidavit. Two-and-a-half blue bills stamped M30 were allegedly found in the woman's bedroom by her mother after the overdose and given to Texarkana Texas Police Department officers.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration's website, blue pills stamped with M30 are oxycodone, a powerful prescription opioid pain reliever. The pills collected from the overdose victim's bedroom allegedly "field tested" positive for fentanyl, a synthetic opioid more powerful than morphine.

The woman's mother found her unresponsive the evening of Dec. 19 and was unable to wake her. When the woman's breathing stopped, the mother performed CPR until first responders arrived. The woman reportedly told TTPD Investigator Colten Johnson that she was informed by hospital staff that she would not have survived if she had not been found by her mother and given emergency medical attention.

The woman allegedly reported that she ingested the drug while sitting in Morgan's car at her home in Texarkana, Texas. The woman allegedly told Johnson that after taking the drug she went back in her home and remembers nothing after about 7:30 p.m. that night.

The use of fentanyl in street drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin as a cheap alternative or additive has been associated with a rise in overdose deaths. Counterfeit pills containing fentanyl but stamped to look like genuine prescription drugs such as opioids, tranquilizers and stimulants, are a growing problem too, according to the DEA site.

According to a probable cause affidavit in the robbery case, Morgan and three or four other men attacked two men in March 2020 at a residence in Nash, Texas. One of the men injured in the attack was "covered head to toe with multiple bruises and cuts" and still wore a hospital bracelet on his wrist when he made a report to Nash police March 8, 2020.

The man reported that he was invited to a party at the residence and that he and a friend who went with him were "jumped" when they entered. The man reported that his shoes, hoodie and wallet containing $150 in cash, his driver's license and social security card had been taken.

A video of the attack was allegedly posted to SnapChat by Morgan and viewed by investigators with the Nash, Texas, Police Department. The video allegedly showed the two men being beaten and one man's shoes and hoodie being removed during the assault.

Morgan is being held in the Bowie County jail.

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