Waynesburg woman who fled state sentenced
A Waynesburg woman who had fled the county in 2023 before being apprehended in California last year was sentenced to 10 months to five years incarceration in Greene County Court of Common Pleas Tuesday.
Michelle Morris, 47, was originally arrested in 2021 after an incident where she fired a .22-caliber rifle during an argument with her roommate in her bedroom at their home in Waynesburg.
She was out on bail in 2023 when she’d moved to California without notifying the court. Upon learning she was in the state, Greene County Sheriff’s Office had contacted the Los Angeles Police Department, which arrested her in the suburb of North Hills in October.
Morris’s attorney, Michael Worgul, said at the time she was apprehended, Morris had been planning to turn herself in.
“I apologize for leaving the way I did,” Morris said in court Tuesday, noting that she had been homeless at the time.
She entered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility for 51 days shortly after going to California, and had been sober since, Worgul said.
“Are you confident in your ability to remain clear and free of drugs?” Judge Jeffrey Grimes asked her.
“Absolutely,” Morris told him.
Grimes told Morris to keep up her progress.
“I’m glad to hear you’re doing well,” he said. “It sounds like you’ve turned a page in your life, and that’s always encouraging to me.”
Morris pleaded guilty to charges of discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, possession of a firearm with altered manufacturer number, possession of a controlled substance with intent, default in required appearance, terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and possession of drug paraphernalia.
District Attorney Brianna Vanata dropped two charges brought by her predecessor, David Russo, that she said didn’t fit the case: an aggravated assault charge added after the preliminary hearing, and a charge for weapons of mass destruction, which she said dealt with fireworks.
Morris will serve her sentence at the Greene County jail. She will also get credit for the time served since being brought back in October.
She also received a year probation. Under the terms of her sentencing, she will be able to complete her supervision in California.