ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – Michael Morris was in Roanoke County Court Thursday morning and pled no contest to a misdemeanor reckless driving charge. It was part of the plea deal that would defer the case and amend the charge to improper driving after a six-month period.
“It’s better than the alternative, so yeah, I’ll take it,” Morris said after the plea deal.
The alternative was his initial felony charge of eluding police, stemming from an incident in December of 2022. Morris was rushing to get his ten-year-old daughter Marta to the emergency room after her pneumonia symptoms took a turn for the worse.
[10 NEWS EXCLUSIVE | Video shows father held at gunpoint by state trooper after rushing his daughter to the ER]
“We obviously knew from the beginning that Michael did nothing wrong, that he was not a felon, that he did not commit a crime in this case. So we were pleased to see that finally the Commonwealth Attorney’s office agreed with our perspective and did not pursue the felony charge,” said Morris’ attorney, Jennifer French.
Morris admitted to speeding and running red lights while on the phone with 911 dispatch, as Marta was turning blue in the backseat. That’s when a trooper pulled him over.
“It’s a relief in one sense, the scars are still there. There’s still a lot of stress over the situation but for the most part, we’re trying to live our lives and take care of our kids. That’s the #1 goal,” Morris added.
We got a first-hand look at the stressful moments of the stop after a viewer sent us video of the exchange between the state trooper, T.R. Derosha, and Morris. The trooper is seen pointing a gun at the father, while his daughter and wife are still in the vehicle. Morris tells us, that while his hands were behind his head and he was begging for help for his daughter, Derosha threatened to kill him.
French believes this video and the circumstances of the incident impacted the Commonwealth’s decision.
“We’re very pleased that after obtaining and reviewing the evidence, the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office had concluded that appropriate resolution is going to be a traffic infraction and not a criminal charge for Mr. Morris in this matter,” French said.
Morris will be back in court on May 29.