Pryor 'Ding Dong Ditching' Shooting Suspect Will Go To Trial

Thursday, July 7th 2016, 1:15 pm

By: News On 6

A man will stand trial for shooting a Pryor teen who said he was pulling a neighborhood prank with friends in the early morning of New Year's Day, 2016.

Derek Morgan faces a felony count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

The teenager who was shot in the back during the incident testified Thursday in a preliminary hearing.

Cole Peyton told police he and two friends were knocking on doors in his neighborhood, trying to wake people up around 1 a.m. Morgan was watching a football game and told police he thought someone was breaking into his home, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

1/6/2016 Related Story:Man Arrested, Charged In New Year's Day Shooting Of Pryor Teen

He got a gun and walked to the backyard where the boys had gone to knock on a back window. Morgan told officers he yelled at them, telling them to "put their hands up and not move." Morgan said he thought one of the teens was reaching for a weapon, so he fired multiple times.

In a 911 call, Morgan said, "Some kids are around the back of the house, I think trying to break in. Went around the back of the house, three of them back there. They were around the back window. Fired a shot, hit one of them. One's laying in the street out here. Get an ambulance and police out here immediately."

However, you can hear Peyton in another call trying to explain, “I wasn't trying to break into your house,” he said. “Nothing sir, we were just standing here."

Morgan's attorney has filed a motion to dismiss the charges based on the stand your ground law, but that has not yet been heard by a judge.

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."

Morgan's arraignment is set for August 10, 2016.