Boulder City man mocked investigators over missing video that led to arrest in fatal shooting, police say

Boulder City police arrested John Powell Morgan III, 40, on Saturday at a Henderson car dealership in connection with the May 2021 fatal shooting of Scott Dingman, 40, outside Morgan's home. Morgan is charged with murder with use of a deadly weapon and is being held on $1 million bail at the Clark County Detention Center.

Morgan initially claimed self-defense, telling police that Dingman came at him during a fight and pointed a gun at him. However, a longtime friend, Carl Ray Suvaco, recently told investigators that Morgan removed the magazine from Dingman's firearm just before the shooting. "The truth is ... John took the mags out of Scotts gun, k," police quoted Suvaco as saying. "Put them on the table. Told me to put them in a drawer. I put them in a drawer. The incident happened. John came back in. Said give me the mags and a towel. I gave him the mags and a towel. That's it."

Police also said Morgan was found in possession of thousands of home surveillance clips from the night of the shooting, but two critical minutes of footage from the moments after the shooting are missing. A blood spatter expert determined the crime scene evidence did not align with Morgan's account. Additionally, a witness who has since died, Michael Bruce Henn, reported seeing Morgan "close the distance on the victim (Dingman) in the roadway and shoot him."

Morgan's attorney, Louis Schneider, called the new evidence not credible and said video shows Dingman was armed that night. "John is half of Scott Dingman's size," Schneider said. "John was in fear for his life." Schneider also said Morgan posted a $1 million bond on Tuesday.

According to the arrest report, both men had been drinking shots for hours and brandished firearms before the shooting near Fairway and Pueblo drives. Police recovered nine spent casings from Morgan's weapon but none from Dingman's pistol, which was found under Dingman's left hand. A wallet identified as Dingman's was found in Morgan's possession.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal