Former Morton Police Chief Roger Morningstar pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing a law enforcement officer, a gross misdemeanor, in Lewis County Superior Court Wednesday morning.
Minutes after his plea, Judge Paul Strophy sentenced Morningstar to 364 days in prison — with all 364 days suspended for two years — along with restitution reserved.
In other words, Morningstar will serve no jail time, provided he commits no new criminal law violations over the next two years.
Strophy’s ruling came after the introduction of thrice-amended criminal charging information, and was part of Morningstar’s Barr and Alford pleas agreed upon by his counsel and state prosecutors.
Barr pleas allow a defendant to plead guilty to amended charges, even if those charges do not specifically pertain to the allegations in the case. Alford pleas, meanwhile, allow a defendant to maintain innocence and avoid trial, while also acknowledging that the state has sufficient-enough evidence to lead to a possible trial conviction.
Morningstar was originally charged with two counts of second-degree identity theft, one count of third-degree theft and abuse of office in December 2024. The identity theft charges carried maximum punishments of five years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
The charges came after Morningstar was alleged to have used a city credit card to make unauthorized personal purchases between June 19, 2022, and June 10, 2023.
The Chronicle previously reported that Morningstar resigned in June 2023 after failing a polygraph examination pertaining to internal investigations of sexual harassment, misused public funds and untruthful statements made on his department application.
He had been Morton's police chief since 2016.
During the sentencing hearing, Morningstar’s attorney, Jacob Clark, called the deal between the defense and the state a "resolution that we felt was more reflective of the risk of both parties.”
Clark said the “state realized they couldn’t prove that (Morningstar) had done anything illegal as far as using the credit card illegally from the city or any money or anything of that nature.”
“The state wanted something,” Clark added moments later. “My client wanted to eliminate any potential risk, and this is how we got to that position. So that’s the reason for the third amended (information).”
Morningstar spoke softly during the hearing. He replied, “Guilty, your honor,” when asked by Strophy how he intended to plead.
Clark intimated that the case was “heavily negotiated” and suggested the final agreement between the parties came down to Morningstar’s “willingness to move on and, in a way, take some responsibility for what went on here in accepting the charge.”
Clark further explained that his client had resigned from his former position, has new employment and is now in a different location with his family.
“He just wants to be done with everything,” Clark said, before noting that Morningstar could have otherwise ended up with a gross misdemeanor — albeit one that might not have been as favorable as the one agreed upon by the parties.
The defense attorney did, however, say he believed that the felony aspects of the case were “cleared up” during interviews.
Before accepting the sentencing recommendation offered by the state and the defense, Strophy acknowledged Morningstar’s lack of criminal history and service to the community as a prior police chief, but indicated that Morningstar could still be held to account for the financial aspects of the case at a later date.
Clark responded that he believed he and Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Paul Masiello would be able to put an order together quickly to have Morningstar reimburse the City of Morton for the missing funds, adding it might be as little as $100.
According to previous court documents, Morningstar allegedly used his city card to purchase $180.35 of cleaning supplies and household products on June 19, 2022.
He allegedly spent $99.40 for a package of vitamins on May 1, 2023, and then spent $99.40 for another package of vitamins on June 1, 2023.
