BATON ROUGE — The man killed by Baton Rouge police Tuesday had an arrest history dating back to 2010, consisting mostly of property crimes.
Devin Morris, 33, was accused of repeatedly stabbing a 71-year-old man in the face after an argument, stealing a car and leading police on a chase before barricading himself in a Melrose East apartment.
He is accused of disabling a drone and fighting with a police dog while the Special Response Team worked to get him out of the apartment. Ultimately, he was shot and killed by a police officer.
Morris has an arrest history dating back to an attempted armed robbery arrest in 2010, but nearly all his arrests were for non-violent crimes.
In the attempted armed robbery arrest, he entered a “best interest” plea of guilty to compounding a felony and was sentenced to two years’ probation. By 2013, his probation was revoked due to other arrests.
Among those were an arrest in 2012 for theft and monetary instrument abuse at a pizza restaurant. He pleaded guilty and got sentenced for four months in jail, court records show.
In 2013, he was arrested for unauthorized entry of a business and simple criminal damage to property at an apartment complex where he lived at the time. He pleaded guilty to simple criminal damage to property and was sentenced to a year in prison.
In 2015, he was accused of tying a man up with shoelaces to steal the man’s car. He was caught by police in the car with the man’s phone, shoelaces and other property. He pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of a movable and was sentenced to three years in prison.
In 2016, police found him sleeping in a car in Tigerland. He had allegedly broken into the car and had marijuana with him along and a credit card and driver’s license that were not his. He pleaded guilty to marijuana possession and illegal possession of stolen things. He was sentenced to a little more than six months in jail.
Morris was arrested twice in 2020. He was arrested that February on simple burglary of a vehicle and access device fraud after he allegedly broke into an acquaintance’s car and stole a debit card that he used to by a cell phone.
In August of 2020, he was caught inside the Dillard’s store at Cortana Mall after a window was smashed. Police said he was wearing stolen shoes and carrying stolen socks and a pair of women’s shoes, according to court records. He told police he walked in through an unlocked door to use the bathroom. He pleaded guilty in that case in November of 2023 and was given three-year suspended sentence.
Less than a year later, his probation in that case was revoked.
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