HENDERSON (KTNV) — The man charged with killing Boulder City resident Scott Dingman will stay behind bars despite posting a $1 million bond in his murder case.
A judge ordered John Powell Morgan held without bail after he was arrested in Henderson on new charges while already out on bail in another felony case.
WATCH: Darcy Spears has the latest on the case:
Morgan was already facing felony drug charges when police arrested him Saturday on a murder charge, which led to new gun and drug charges.
Glancing repeatedly at his lawyer, Morgan learned Wednesday he wasn't leaving jail.
"Because he was out pending another case and picked up a new felony charge, he can be held no bail until the state has a chance to get this case in front of that other court to withdraw his bail or revoke his bail or whatnot," Judge Sandra DiGiacomo said.
In that other case, Morgan faces felony drug charges for allegedly possessing about 30 grams of cocaine with intent to sell. He's now also charged with murder for the 2021 shooting death of Dingman.
Morgan claimed self-defense, and the case was originally closed. But after 13 Investigates exposed major flaws and inconsistencies in the original investigation, Boulder City reopened the case.
WATCH: Previous coverage of flaws in police investigation
During Saturday's arrest, police said Morgan also had a concealed weapon without a permit — a Glock 19 — other dangerous weapons, including full fist brass knuckles, and dangerous drugs without a prescription. His attorney said it was an erectile dysfunction drug. The judge wasn't persuaded.
"So, I'm holding him. No bail," DiGiacomo said.
Longtime Dingman family friend Darla Wing was relieved to hear Morgan had been arrested for murder.
"Five and a half years, this family suffered — the wife, the child, friends, family. And so everyone could breathe," Wing said.
But she remains worried Morgan may, at some point, be granted bail.
"He gets out. He's in Boulder City. He's a threat. He's carrying weapons. He's already being charged for murder. Add drugs to that, it's a concern for the citizens of Boulder City," Wing said.
But as the criminal cases move forward, another fight is playing out over Dingman's reputation. Morgan's attorney Louis Schneider has been sharing a short video of Morgan and Dingman roughhousing hours before the shooting.
"And holding my client in a chokehold and pointing a loaded gun to his head about two hours before the shooting," Schneider said in Morgan's bail hearing Monday in Boulder City court. "So nobody wants to seem to address that."
Dingman family attorney Maggie McLetchie calls it a smear campaign, saying the short clip distorts what happened.
"First and foremost, he's using a very limited portion, a very small fragment of video footage from the night of the murder to make it appear as if somehow his client was in fear for his life, and to make Scott Dingman seem like a danger. The video doesn't actually show that at all. It shows two people horsing around," McLetchie said.
McLetchie also points to new details in the arrest affidavit she said undercut Morgan's self-defense claim.
"It appears from the affidavit that Mr. Morgan took the magazine out of Scott's gun. And so the idea that he was ever afraid of Scott's gun after that fact has no real merit," McLetchie said.
Police said Morgan's uncle, who was there that night, told them Morgan removed the magazines from Dingman's gun before the shooting, then retrieved one afterward.
"And went back outside. And he also asked for a towel, went back outside after he shot Scott," McLetchie said.
A blood spatter expert and the new police investigation also raise questions about whether the scene was staged. The Dingman family is now suing Boulder City and its police department.
"They had to fight to get access to the truth, and they've had to fight to get the wheels of justice going. They say justice delayed is justice denied, but at least we're finally here. But there remain serious questions about why it took so long to get here," McLetchie said.
And then there's what Morgan's own attorney once said about him. Schneider has not responded to my requests for comment, including about text messages 13 Investigates obtained.
They're from a 2024 exchange with Morgan's ex-girlfriend, Cheralee Seekatz, who is now a state witness in the murder case.
Schneider writes: "SPENT A FULL DAY WITH MR. MORGAN LAST SATURDAY (FELT LIKE A MONTH)... HE YELLED AT ME ALL GODDAMN DAY."
When Seekatz responds, "DON'T LET HIM DO ANYTHING TOO STUPID," Schneider writes: "I'LL TRY BUT IT'S LIKE HANGING OUT WITH AN ANGRY JEFFREY DAHMER."
Morgan's murder case, two drug cases and the Dingman family's civil suit are all still moving through the courts. We'll continue following each of them.
Schneider has not responded to my requests for comment, so we don't know what he meant by the Jeffrey Dahmer comparison. But what's significant is that these are his own words in an exchange with Morgan's ex-girlfriend, who is now a witness for the state in the murder case.
