Gwinnett Co. Man Charged with Attempted Murder in Hart Co.

In Hart County, a Gwinnett County man, charged in Hart County with attempted murder and a host of other crimes, will spend the next 20 years in a state prison.
Thursday afternoon, Northern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Parks White announced 52-year old Joseph Ray Morrison was found guilty by a Hart County Superior Court Jury of Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder, three counts of Aggravated Assault on a Peace Officer, First-degree Arson, and Hindering an Emergency Telephone Call.
The crimes stemmed from a domestic dispute that took place on  January 20, 2016 at a home in the Reed Creek area of Hart County.
At the time of the incident, Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland said it began when a woman came to the Hart County Sheriff’s office to file an incident report on Morrison, her live-in boyfriend.
Cleveland said the woman told deputies Morrison had been acting aggressively for several days and had threatened to kill her and their son.

“The deputies and myself responded to serve a warrant on a domestic situation,” said Cleveland. “When we arrived, the suspect was in the yard. He ran in the house, cussing and screaming obscenities. I tried to talk him down.”

Cleveland said he and deputies continued to try and talk to Morrison to get him to give himself up, but Cleveland said Morrison became more and more agitated.
“After a while, he went in the house and set the house on fire,” said Cleveland. “There was a huge explosion. Moments later, he came out in a dead sprint straight at me with a machete screaming that he was going to kill me.”
Cleveland said it was at that point, he and another deputy opened fire.
“Myself and one deputy opened fire,” said Cleveland. “When he went down to the ground, he was at my feet. We gave him every opportunity for us not to have to shoot him, he just wasn’t going to have it.”
Morrison collapsed at Cleveland’s feet with three gunshot wounds to the leg.
White said the jury Thursday deliberated for just 13 minutes before returning a guilty verdict on all counts.
According to White, Morrison had three prior felony convictions.
After the guilty verdict was read, Superior Court Judge Thomas Hodges sentenced Morrison to 30 years in prison with 20 to serve and no possibility of parole.