Columbus man facing 7 life sentences insists on representing himself at robbery trial
The suspect in a series of Columbus store robberies has ditched his defense attorney and insists on representing himself at trial, even though he faces seven life without parole prison sentences if convicted.
During a hearing Monday in Muscogee Superior Court, John Arthur Morris told Judge Arthur Smith III that he still wants to act as his own attorney when he’s tried on six counts of armed robbery and one count of attempted armed robbery, plus seven counts of using a firearm to commit a felony.
Because Morris already has multiple felonies on his record, Georgia law mandates that if he’s convicted on all those counts, then Smith has to sentence him to the maximum penalty for each. The maximum for armed robbery or its attempt is life without parole, Assistant District Attorney Wesley Lambertus told the judge.
Morris, 50, who told Smith he attended high school through 10th grade before he got a general education diploma admitted under questioning that he did not know how many jurors the defense and prosecution got to strike without cause during jury selection.
He also was unsure how to challenge a prosecutor’s jury strikes, and how to introduce evidence, how to propose instructions the judge gives a jury before its deliberations, and how to contest the presentation of evidence regarding a defendant’s criminal record.
But over the past two years he has filed a barrage of defense motions to remove his defense attorney and represent himself, to demand a speedy trial and to contest his indictment and challenge the evidence as having been concocted or tampered with, including police photo lineups from which witnesses identified him as the gunman in a series of 2016 robberies.
Morris has been named as a suspect not only in armed robberies primarily targeting Columbus auto parts stores, but in other cases in Alabama and Florida.
According to the FBI, which in 2016 sought him for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, Morris’ pattern of operation was to brandish a handgun and force witnesses to the rear room of the business, where he bound them with zip ties or telephone cords.
He was captured Aug. 22 during a traffic stop in Mississippi. During a Columbus Recorder’s Court hearing the following Sept. 28, a detective testified that though Morris used a mask, sometimes, on at least one occasion he didn’t put the mask on until he already was in the store he planned to rob.
Multiple witnesses are expected to testify at his trial, which likely won’t be held until 2020.
The cases
Here are the 2016 cases in which Morris was indicted:
- May 13: Armed robbery of AutoZone Auto Parts, 6450 Flat Rock Road. A police warrant charging Morris said $2,160 was taken.
- May 23: Attempted armed robbery of AutoZone Auto Parts, 3580 Victory Drive, where the gunman demanded money, but left without taking any.
- May 23: Armed robbery of Advance Auto Parts, 1501 Manchester Expressway, reported about 45 minutes after the attempted robbery of the Victory Drive AutoZone. A warrant said the gunman got only $137.
- May 29: Armed robbery of Advance Auto Parts, 6451 Victory Drive. A warrant said $1,148 was taken.
- July 1: Armed robbery of the Golden Corral Buffet & Grill, 1505 Manchester Expressway. A warrant said $4,880 was taken. Police said the gunman forced workers to the rear of the business and robbed its safe. He also abducted the manager and forced her to drive him away from the restaurant, before releasing her unharmed.
- July 16: Armed robbery of the AutoZone, 6450 Flat Rock Road, the same business targeted May 13.
During testimony at Morris’ preliminary hearing, a detective said that in the attempted robbery at the Victory Drive AutoZone, the gunman confronted the store manager before donning a ski mask, and the manager told him that he’d already seen the man’s face. The gunman then accosted two other workers before deciding instead to flee.
On Nov. 16, 2018, Lambertus filed notice that he’ll seek recidivist punishment for Morris, based on these prior felony convictions in Georgia:
- Theft by taking in Muscogee County on Aug. 27, 1987.
- Aggravated assault in Muscogee County on Dec. 24, 1987.
- Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Muscogee County on Oct. 16, 1995.
- Attempted burglary in Dekalb County on July 2, 2007.
- Theft by shoplifting in Clayton County on June 30, 2008.
- Theft by shoplifting in Dekalb County on Sept. 13, 2012.
Georgia law says anyone with three or more felonies who is convicted of a subsequent felony must serve the entire sentence for that crime without being eligible for parole.
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 5:05 PM.