District Judge Erika Mendoza revoked bail Tuesday for John Powell Morgan III in a pending drug case stemming from a 2025 arrest. The decision came after Clark County prosecutor Chase Christensen filed a motion citing the discovery of a gun and metal knuckles in Morgan's possession when he was arrested on a murder charge in October.
Morgan was charged with murder more than five years after the 2021 shooting death of Scott Dingman, 40, outside Morgan's Boulder City home. Police initially ruled the shooting self-defense but later said a witness reported Morgan removed a magazine from Dingman's handgun before the shooting, contradicting Morgan's account. Authorities also cited blood spatter evidence and two minutes of missing surveillance video from the night of the killing.
Since the homicide, Morgan has faced two additional criminal cases. Police said they found cocaine in his home while serving a search warrant in the homicide investigation, leading to the drug charges. The weapons charges resulted from the gun and knuckles found during his murder arrest.
Defense attorney Louis Schneider said Wednesday he believes Morgan is "getting special treatment" because of the controversy surrounding the Boulder City killing. "Anybody else, the bail would have been reinstated and they'd be placed on house arrest," Schneider said. He maintained Morgan carried the gun and knuckles because he had received numerous death threats.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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