BULLHEAD CITY – A drug dealer from Bullhead City is going to the Arizona Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to charges in three of his four criminal cases. Thomas Morgan, 36, pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to 15 years in prison as mandated in the deal.
“This is a very good disposition for the defendant,” said Judge Billy Sipe. He noted that Morgan faced a minimum of 63 years to a maximum of nearly 200 years in prison if convicted of all of his criminal charges.
Some 14 charges, including drug, assault, unlawful flight and robbery related counts, are dismissed in the plea agreement in exchange for single convictions in three cases.
One of the cases involved a June 27 police pursuit on Highway 95 that ventured across the Laughlin Bridge to Casino Drive before Morgan jumped into the Colorado River attempting to escape before surrendering. Deputy Mohave County attorney Leah Nelson said Morgan attempted to conceal one or more bags of drugs during the swim.
Nelson said authorities recovered a plastic bag containing approximately 1,000 fentanyl pills.
Authorities seized about 10,000 fentanyl pills and 13 grams of methamphetamine following the traffic stop of the tow truck Morgan was operating in Golden Valley on Feb. 3
Morgan pleaded guilty in the separate seizures to single counts reduced to attempted possession of narcotic drug charges.
The defendant also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for an incident involving his wife in Aug. 2023. Nelson said Morgan argued with his wife before she fled in a vehicle in Bullhead City.
Nelson said Morgan borrowed a vehicle he used to deliberately ram the vehicle his wife was driving multiple times.
Dave Hawkins
