Coos Bay Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to being an Armed Career Criminal

EUGENE, Ore. – Christopher Michael Morgan, 41, a resident of Coos County, Oregon, appeared before United States District Court Chief Judge Ann Aiken on July 29, 2014 and pled guilty to being an armed career criminal. Morgan, a felon, admitted possessing a loaded .45 caliber pistol in a woman’s restroom at Mingus Park in Coos Bay, Oregon, at 1:30 am on June 18, 2013.

After accepting the guilty plea, Chief Judge Aiken scheduled Morgan’s sentencing hearing for November 12, 2014. Morgan faces a 15-year mandatory minimum prison term and five years of post-prison supervision. Morgan qualifies to be sentenced as an armed career criminal because he possessed the pistol after being previously convicted of four residential burglaries and a felony assault. Morgan has been convicted six times for possessing methamphetamine and once for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Morgan and a woman were inside the women’s restroom at the park. A Coos Bay police officer confronted Morgan outside the bathroom and attempted to arrest him for violating his parole. Morgan fought the officer and during the struggle held the pistol, then tossed it away. Morgan was subdued and methamphetamine was located in his pocket. He was charged in state court with firearm and drug offenses, and resisting arrest. Coos County’s District Attorney Paul Frasier requested the assistance of the United States Attorney’s office in prosecuting Morgan. Morgan’s guilty plea and admissions were part of a global resolution of his federal and state charges.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Coos Bay Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank R. Papagni, Jr., with the assistance of Coos County Deputy District Attorney Steven Petty, prosecuted the case.