Fugitive David Clyde Morgan, now the focus of a manhunt, may have been on the run because of a July raid at his North Carolina home that yielded 3 pounds of marijuana, court records show.
Morgan's girlfriend, who told police she knew him as "Uber Legend," said in a July interview with law enforcement that she and Morgan "decided to run from North Carolina" because of the marijuana discovery, according to a federal criminal complaint against Morgan.
Morgan is on probation after serving 14 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamines, according to federal records. His girlfriend, Sandra Brown, is now jailed on charges, including menacing a police officer and possession of stolen property. Police say the couple was in a car stolen from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, when they encountered a Geneseo police officer on July 18.
Police allege that Morgan pointed a gun at the officer — Dylan DiPasquale — after a traffic stop. Brown also allegedly aimed what appeared to be a handgun, and DiPasquale fired a shot, according to police.
Morgan fled and police arrested Brown. Morgan has not yet been located. The Livingston County Sheriff's Office has scheduled a press conference for Tuesday when it plans to publicly release the video from the police dash-cam.
Livingston County sheriff's investigators Brad Schneider and Robert Fuller interviewed Brown after her arrest, records show. According to court documents, Brown said that:
• Morgan's home in Wilmington, North Carolina, was raided on July 11 and the marijuana was found.
• Police in North Carolina gave Morgan the chance to cooperate with the drug investigation. He had until July 16 to decide, and, instead, he and Brown "decided to run."
• They went to Myrtle Beach, where Morgan got a .22-caliber pistol. They had been on the road since July 16, "avoiding major roads and taking back roads."
• When stopped on July 18, she and Morgan concocted a quick plan where Morgan would point the gun at the officer and Brown would also aim a cellphone at him. When DiPasquale approached, "she bent down, pointing her cellphone at the officer, when the officer fired one round at her."
In an affidavit, Patrick Hoffmann, a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said that the police dashboard camera video showed the incident as described by Brown. The U.S. Marshals Service is also involved in the search for Morgan.
Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty said Monday that investigators had been able to confirm the discovery of marijuana in North Carolina.
Morgan "was found to be in possession of marijuana where he was residing," Dougherty said.
One odd footnote shows up in the federal court papers, which accuse Morgan of illegally possessing a firearm because he was a felon.
While being interviewed, Brown identified Morgan from a photo. That's when she told police she knew him not as David Clyde Morgan but instead as "Uber Legend."
She said she had known him for about two years and been in a relationship with him for six months. She said she knew he was on federal probation but "did not know why."
