Man Arrested, Charged In New Year's Day Shooting Of Pryor Teen

Derek Morgan, the man who shot a Pryor teen "pulling a neighborhood prank" could face life in prison if convicted.

The Pryor police chief says it took five days to make the arrest because the Mayes County district attorney wanted investigators to be as thorough as possible. The arresting affidavit gives us a better idea of just what happened in the early morning hours New Year's Day.

Morgan didn't want to answer questions upon being arrested Wednesday for assault and battery with a deadly weapon. "You guys can talk to my lawyer, Chuck Ramsey," he stated.

Derek Morgan has been charged In Mayes County with a felony count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

But a probable cause affidavit clears up many questions surrounding what police call a "strange" shooting.

Read the affidavit.

In the affidavit, Cole Peyton, a freshman at Pryor High School, says he and two friends were knocking on doors in his neighborhood, hoping to wake people up around 1:00 a.m., when they knocked on Morgan's parent's front door. Morgan lives in Tulsa but was at his parents’ home in Pryor when the incident transpired.

The affidavit states Morgan was watching football when he heard the noise, told his dad someone was breaking in and grabbed a Glock. 

Morgan says he walked around the house to the unfenced backyard, where the boys had moved to knock on a back window.

There, Morgan says he yelled at them to "put their hands up and not move." 

He says one of the teens moved. Morgan thought he was reaching for a weapon, so he fired multiple times.

Peyton and his friends took off.

1/6/2016 Related Story: Man Who Shot Teenage Prankster In Pryor Charged With Felony

The affidavit states Peyton made it to the street before being shot in the back.

"Times are changed,” explained Pryor Police Chief Steve Lemmings. “Kids used to be able to do a lot more and it's just scary now with what the public's capable of doing."

Morgan's dad, Gary, backs up his son's story, but questions part of it in a recording from a police car. The affidavit states in that recording, Gary says he doesn't know how his son could see the boys reaching for something in the dark.

Mayes County District Attorney Matt Ballard released this statement after filing the charge against Morgan:

"While I fully support responsible gun ownership and the right of people to defend their person and their home; that's not what happened in this case. The victim was 85 feet away from the house in the middle of a public street when he was shot while fleeing."

Peyton's mom says she doesn't feel strong enough to talk about the shooting at this time. Her son is still recovering from what was a life-threatening gunshot wound.

We called Derek Morgan's attorney, Chuck Ramsey, for comment, but he declined.