Woman shot in stomach in Bollinger County; two men arrested

SCOPUS, Mo. -- Two men were arrested Tuesday and were in the Bollinger County Jail awaiting filing of several charges after a Tuesday night shooting.

According to Bollinger County Sheriff Darin Shell, Robert "Bob" Edward Morgan, 58, and his son Robert Keller Morgan, 24, were arrested in connection with the shooting of Nichole Morgan, 31 -- Robert Keller Morgan's wife -- at a home at 411 County Road 344 between Scopus and Mayfield, Mo. Two young children were home at the time of the shooting, Shell said.

A 911 call was received at about 9 p.m. from Nichole Morgan's stepfather, who said she had been shot in the stomach by her father-in-law, Robert Edward Morgan, during a dispute he was having with her husband, Robert Keller Morgan, Shell said.

Robert "Bob" Morgan

By the time deputies arrived, both men had fled the scene and family members had taken Nichole Morgan and the children to Perry County Memorial Hospital, according to a statement released Wednesday by the sheriff's office.

Deputies met with Nichole Morgan at the hospital where she confirmed she had been shot by her father-in-law during the dispute with her husband, the statement said. She was later flown to Saint Francis Medical Center, where, according to Shell, she was in stable condition and will be moved to a room after receiving treatment in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit.

Shell said deputies returned to the Morgan home to make contact with Robert Edward Morgan and Robert Keller Morgan and to process the crime scene. Noticing upstairs lights were on and a window shade open, the deputies knocked on a door and announced their presence. Although nothing stirred within the home, Shell said the deputies saw something happen which indicated someone was inside.

"Someone in the residence turned the upstairs lights off and closed the window shade," he said.

Deputies sought and were granted a warrant to search the house, and the two men were arrested without incident, the statement said.

Shell said he didn't know what sparked the hostilities between the two men in the Morgan home, but he added that they were intoxicated during the time of the dispute. Both had facial injuries Shell said they received during the altercation that led to the shooting.

Robert Edward Morgan faces charges of first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, hindering prosecution, resisting arrest and first-degree child endangerment, pending the formal filing of charges by the county prosecutor. Those charges hadn't been filed by late Wednesday afternoon.

Robert Keller Morgan faces charges of first-degree domestic assault, hindering prosecution, resisting arrest and first-degree child endangerment, when formal charges are filed.

Bond has not been set, but Shell said additional charges may be filed against both men. Shell said the men possibly could be arraigned April 10 at the Bollinger County Courthouse.

The Banner Press reporter Linda Redeffer contributed to this report.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

411 County Road 344, Scopus, Mo.

202 High Street, Marble Hill, Mo.