Update: Tommy Morris, Jr., a prior and persistent offender, has been charged by the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney's Office with second-degree murder, attempt to deliver a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
The male pedestrian involved in the incident at Price Cutter has been located and interviewed. He is uninjured.
These charges are merely accusations, and Morris is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The Springfield Police Department's investigation is ongoing.
The probable cause statement, written by Detective Neil Amis is printed below:
The male pedestrian involved in the incident at Price Cutter has been located and interviewed. He is uninjured.
These charges are merely accusations, and Morris is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The Springfield Police Department's investigation is ongoing.
On 4-17-2018 Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET) Detectives were conducting surveillance on The Best Budget Inn at 4433 West Chestnut Expressway, Springfield, Greene County, Missouri. NET Detectives observed a white Hyundai sedan bearing Arkansas license plates 994VFA parked in front of Room #141.
A check of Springfield Police Department resources revealed a vehicle bearing Arkansas license plates 994VFA eluded a Springfield Police Officer on 2-7-2018. At about 1000 hours a subject, later identified as Tommy Morris, exited the Best Budget Inn and entered the Hyundai.
The Hyundai pulled up to the lobby and parked. Morris stood outside the lobby and entered. Minutes later, Morris exited the lobby and entered the Hyundai. The Hyundai left the location with Morris as the driver. NET Detectives and Detective J. Copley followed the vehicle away from the location.
Detective C. Harter observed the vehicle speeding about 51 MPH and swerving within its lane as it was eastbound on Chestnut Expressway, west of West Bypass. Detective J. Tauai attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle and the vehicle failed to stop.
Detective C. Harter observed the vehicle arrive back at The Best Budget Inn at about 1345 hours. He observed Morris enter Room #141. At about 1445 hours, Detective C. Harter watched Morris exit Room #141 and enter the Hyundai. Detective C. Harter observed Morris carrying a small black backpack.
NET detectives conducted surveillance on the Hyundai as it left the location and traveled to the Price Cutter at 335 North Nolting Avenue, Springfield, Greene County, Missouri. The Hyundai parked next to a maroon Chevrolet Silverado on the parking lot, driver door to driver door, a method commonly used to conduct hand to hand transactions of controlled substances from vehicle to vehicle.
NET detectives attempted to detain the subjects while they were in their vehicles. The Hyundai left the scene at a high rate of speed and struck a pedestrian and shopping cart in the parking lot. The pedestrian left the location and was not identified.
The Hyundai fled the scene and Detective Tauai pursued the vehicle until he lost sight of the Hyundai near Delmar and Scenic. I was southbound on Scenic at Delmar when I heard Detective Tauai say he had lost sight of the vehicle near Delmar and Scenic. I looked in my rear view mirror and spotted the suspect vehicle turn northbound on Scenic at a high rate of speed. I followed the vehicle northbound and lost sight of the vehicle as it crested the hill just north of Grand on Scenic.
When I got to the top of the hill, I could see the suspect vehicle several blocks in front of me approaching Mount Vernon Street. I could see that the northbound traffic light on Scenic was red. I could see vehicles traveling westbound through the intersection at Mount Vernon and Scenic. I observed the Hyundai run the red light and strike a black Pontiac.
I arrived at the intersection only seconds later and several other officers arrived simultaneously. Tommy Morris was in the driver's seat ofthe Hyundai. No other individuals were in the Hyundai when I arrived.
Morris was taken into custody. I immediately went to the black Pontiac and saw a female in the driver's seat that appeared to be obviously deceased. That female driver was later identified as D.S. It was relayed to me that medical personnel pronounced D.S. dead on scene.
Detective Copley detained the male in the maroon truck at the Price Cutter parking lot and identified him as M.D. He told M.D. we were investigating illegal narcotics distribution. M.D. advised he was at the location to meet the male in the Hyundai and said he knew him only as Tennessee. M.D. stated he was meeting Tennessee to pay him back gas money previously loaned to him by Tennessee.
M.D. provided consent to search his person and vehicle. Detective Copley searched his person and located $80 U.S. Currency in his wallet. M.D. advised Copley that he previously purchased methamphetamine from Tennessee about twice a week for the last three weeks. I responded to the vehicle accident site at about 2000 hours and retrieved a black backpack from the front passenger floorboard of the Hyundai.
Detective C. Harter identified the backpack as the same one he observed Morris carrying when leaving Room #141 at about 1445 hours. A search warrant was obtained and executed on the black backpack.
Inside the backpack were items consistent with the sale of methamphetamine including scales, individually packaged bags of methamphetamine which weighed approximately 59 grams, unused empty baggies, and notebook that appeared consistent with a drug ledger.
On 4-18-18, I interviewed Morris at the Greene County Sheriff s Department. Morris admitted, post-Miranda, that he was meeting M.D. to sell M.D. methamphetamine. Morris also admitted that he had been selling quantities of methamphetamine for the past several months. Morris also stated that the drugs were located in a backpack in his vehicle, and there should have been about an ounce of methamphetamine in the bag.
When I confronted him about the quantity of the drugs, he admitted to 'cutting' the methamphetamine with other substances to make it appear to be about two ounces. Morris stated that he saw undercover officers approaching in the Price Cutter parking lot and he fled the scene at that time. Morris told me he knew that he had a warrant for his arrest and he said he did not want to go to jail.
Morris admitted he struck a shopping cart that was being pushed by an individual in the Price Cutter parking lot. He denied striking a person. I asked him if he would have stopped if he had struck a person and he stated he would have kept fleeing. Morris admitted to driving erratically through neighborhoods in an attempt to evade officers. Morris further admitted that he knew he had struck multiple vehicles in the intersection.
