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Robert Westly Morris II, 40, of Temple was arrested Oct. 31 on one drug charge and one firearm charge. Now, multiple felony warrants and one misdemeanor warrant have been issued for the arrest of Morris – who allegedly fled from game wardens and shot at one Wednesday. COPPERAS COVE POLICE DEPARTMENT
A man who authorities said fled on Wednesday from game wardens Shaun Bayless and Brent Whitus – and fired one handgun shot at Whitus – remained at large at press time Monday morning.
The game wardens were not injured.
The suspect, 40-year-old Robert Westly Morris II, is from Temple, according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.
Morris last was seen Thursday on Winchester Drive in Copperas Cove, according to Lt. Kevin Miller, public information officer for the Copperas Cove Police Department. Lampasas County Sheriff
Lampasas County Sheriff Jess Ramos – whose department joined Parks & Wildlife, CCPD and several other agencies in the search for Morris – said the suspect is a heavy-set white man with a “scruffy beard.”
Authorities said anyone who knows Morris’ location should not contact him but should call the Lampasas County Sheriff’s Office – at 512-556-8255 – or the Copperas Cove Police Department, at 254-547-8222.
TPWD, the sheriff’s office and CCPD were among several agencies that helped with the search for Morris after he allegedly fled from Bayless and Whitus in a white pickup to the 2500 block of Big Divide Road, got out of the vehicle, climbed a fence and disappeared into a pasture with heavy brush cover.
The game wardens, responding to a complainant’s report that his fence had been cut, had stopped the pickup on County Road 3270, north of Kempner, according to Ramos. Morris and his passenger, 30-year-old Johnnie Heintzman of Copperas Cove, fled in the vehicle at a high speed before Morris drove across a yard on Big Divide Road and ran out of gasoline.
Both men then fled on foot – according to a sheriff’s office news release issued Thursday – but Heintzman was captured and handcuffed immediately.
The sheriff’s office; Copperas Cove, Lampasas and Kempner police departments; the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice joined with TPWD in searching for Morris. Wednesday’s manhunt lasted for hours, and the search involved drones, scent-tracking dogs, horses and a fixed-wing aircraft with a system that detects body heat.
Copperas Cove police had arrested Morris on Oct. 31, 2020 on charges of possession of a controlled substance, greater than or equal to 4 grams but less than 200 grams; and unlawful carry of a firearm by a felon.
Now, authorities have secured felony warrants for Morris’ arrest on charges of attempted aggravated assault on a peace officer, unlawful possession of firearm by a convicted felon, criminal trespass with a deadly weapon and criminal mischiefdestroy livestock fence. In addition, an arrest warrant has been issued on a misdemeanor charge of evading arrest in a motor vehicle.
The sheriff’s office and CCPD “are actively pursuing any and all investigative leads as to the whereabouts” of Morris, the sheriff’s office stated.