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Name:
Morgan, Daniel J
Date of Booking:
05/07/2025
Reason(s) For Booking:
CRUELTY TO CHILDREN-DEPRIVATION OF NECESSARY SUSTENANCE – 1ST DEGREE
CRUELTY TO CHILDREN-DEPRIVATION OF NECESSARY SUSTENANCE – 1ST DEGREE – 2 counts
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On 5/7/25 I spoke with [WITNESS #1] (social worker Armuchee Primary School) via phone, who advised me of her concerns for the listed children, ages 8, 10 and 14. [WITNESS #1]’s concerns included a number of issues. Some of the concerns included sexual assault incidents involving the children being both victims and perpetrators and the children’s health and living conditions. [WITNESS #1] advised that she and [WITNESS #2] (sexual assault therapist) have been dealing with these children for quite some time and have been going back and forth with DFCS, the case manager as well as the supervisor, but advised that her concerns about the children’s safety and well-being have been ignored. [WITNESS #1] advised me of the current situation with the children and DFCS. [WITNESS #1] advised that the children were removed from [WITNESS #3] AND [WITNESS #4] a couple of years ago due to criminal issues. The children were placed with neighbors at [200 BLOCK] A W. Big Indian Trail, Krystal Hill and Daniel Morgan.
[WITNESS #1] continued with advising me that the children come in every day smelling strongly of a foul odor to the point that they have to provide the children with a clean change of clothing when they get to school, the children are dirty and [JUVENILE #1] (8) has had a problem with fleas in his hair, which they have had to remove. The [JUVENILE #2] has had behavioral issues that would fluctuate. [JUVENILE #3] (10) had a medical issue that was addressed with the DFCS case manager, supervisor and guardians, but advised that the issue was never tended to. [WITNESS #1] advised that, per DFCS, the parents were only supposed to have supervised visitation with the children, however, the guardians continued to let [WITNESS #3] and [WITNESS #4] visit with the children unsupervised. [WITNESS #1] advised there were multiple incidences, as disclosed by the children and by [WITNESS #4] (as the perpetrators) to [WITNESS #2] during therapy, where sexual abuse was occurring and this information was shared with the case manager, but the concerns were ignored once again.
At some point, the case manager advised that the visits between the children and [WITNESS #4] would be indefinitely suspended, however the contact still occurred. Lack of supervision, lack of medical care, lack of hygiene, missing therapy appointments, ignored sexual abuse allegations and incidents and failure to comply with DFCS safety plan are, in general, the issues that the school has tried multiple times to address with the guardians and DFCS, however they went uncorrected by DFCS and, many times, DFCS would never acknowledge or respond through communication at all.
I made a school visit to Armuchee Primary School to speak with [WITNESS #1]. [WITNESS #1] showed me the clothes that she had collected from the two younger children that were extremely malodorous and asked that I make a visit to the home. I advised her that I would go out to the residence to investigate further. [WITNESS #5] (building inspection) and I made a home visit to [200 BLOCK] W. Big Indian Trail. Upon approach of the front door I was met by an extremely foul odor that smelled of urine, trash, dirty animals and filth. I knocked on the door and was met by Morgan. I advised who we were and the reason of the visit. Morgan invited us into the home. The odor grew stronger.
Upon entry into the home, I observed several couches and chaise lounge type furniture in the living room. Morgan advised me that he and Hill sleep in the living because the children sleep in the bedrooms. I asked Morgan what was the cause of the smell in the home and he pointed to two litter boxes in between the living room and kitchen; Both litter boxes were full of cat feces. I asked how often the boxes get cleaned and Morgan advised that they get changed twice a day. I asked if any of the multiple cats and dogs use the bathroom on the floors, which were exposed sub-floors, and he said “No, I don’t allow it”. While Morgan and I were talking about the odor, he walked into the kitchen, grabbed some sort of air freshener and sprayed it a few times over the litter boxes at, I imagine, was an attempt to get rid of the smell.
One of the chaise lounges sat next to the front door and a table that was completely covered with papers, containers of pens/pencils/notepads, trash, dishes, cigarette boxes, ashtray and numerous other items, sat next to it. The table was covered in a hoarder type condition. The couch to the right of the chaise lounge was mostly covered with piles of clothes that stacked up the wall. There were clothes strewn over each piece of furniture inside the home, unsure whether or not they were officially clean or dirty. [WITNESS #5] began to advise of the violations that he was observing and advised Morgan of what the consequences of those violations could be. To the right of the living room is the girls’ bedroom, [JUVENILE #4] and [REDACTED]. To the left of the living room is the kitchen. Throughout the home, in every room and on every wall, were large cobwebs that hung down from the ceiling and some that connected from the ceiling to the wall. The cobwebs were dark in color, suggesting they had been there for an extended period of time.
[WITNESS #5] walked through the kitchen to get to [JUVENILE #2]’s bedroom, on the opposite side of the home from the girl’s room, while I stayed and talked to Morgan. One of the concerns that [WITNESS #1] has had is that both [WITNESS #3] and [WITNESS #4], as well as Morgan and Hill, have not been following the safety plan set in place by DFCS by Morgan and Hill allowing the children to be around the children unsupervised and allowing [WITNESS #4] to stay with them off and on. I asked Morgan when the last time [WITNESS #4] was at the house and if he was living there, Morgan advised he was there the day and night before, but he only stays there on occasion, but for the most part he is homeless and stays wherever he can, to include his van. Morgan advised that [WITNESS #4] was with [JUVENILE #4] yesterday at the back of the neighborhood, without his knowledge, helping a friend pack because they are getting evicted. [WITNESS #5] continued to check the conditions of the bedrooms and bathrooms while I checked the condition of the kitchen.
I observed the condition of the kitchen to be extremely filthy and highly unsanitary. The counter tops were completely covered with dirty dishes, trash, old food and had roaches crawling on and across the appliances, the dishes, and everything else that was sitting on or piled up on every surface. The kitchen is extremely cluttered with items stacked up on and into storage racks. The broken dishwasher was caked in insect feces from top to bottom and extended down the appliance onto the floors. The insect feces also continued up onto the walls and ceilings. The cabinet doors were grimy with some substance and there were roaches crawling on, in and across the cabinets as well. The refrigerator was dirty on the inside and grimy on the outside. While we were in the kitchen, Morgan did advise that the case worker was just out at their residence the day before.
There was an issue under the kitchen sink where there was a leak cased by some kind of busted pipe or other maintenance issue. There are no longer any doors or secured covering over where the door or covering used to be and the mess it has caused has not been cleaned up so underneath the sink, to include the flooring, is wet/damp, dark in color-possible mold and contains trash and rubbish. I asked Morgan how long the underneath of the sink has been like that and he advised for about a year and a half. Morgan mentioned to [WITNESS #5] and I that he has put in multiple requests to the park to have things fixed, however the issues for me are the cleanliness of the home which can lead to possible health issues and that is completely up to the residents to maintain or not to maintain. [WITNESS #5] advised Morgan that he will be filing for an emergency closure of the home and it is set for 5/19/2025. [WITNESS #5] and I left the home at this time.
I returned to the police department to secure warrants for Morgan and Hill for Cruelty to Children 1st Degree x3. As I was in the middle of typing the warrants, Capt. Lom and I placed a call to the CPS supervisor [WITNESS #6] who is over the case worker, [WITNESS #7]. The purpose of the case was to advise of the situation and let them know that the caregivers would be arrested today and the children needed placement. Our phone call was placed around approx. 1330 hrs. We informed [WITNESS #6] of all the details and she advised she appreciated the heads up so she could start looking for placement. As I was walking to the courthouse to have the warrants signed, [WITNESS #6] called me and advised that they were still working on placement, but asked, that if they can’t find placement by 1700, would I take custody of them so then they can request custody from the court. I advised that wasn’t sure but I would ask. I had the warrants signed shortly after and began making arraignments with SRO Sgt. Wacker to keep the children in after school care while we make the arrests and DFCS finds placement.
I went to the primary school and handed the warrant for Hill over to Sgt. Wacker due to Hill advising she was coming to the school to pick up the kids. Pfc. Lanier was standing by to make the arrest and transport to the jail. I then left and met with Pfc. Matthews to execute the warrant on Morgan. We arrived at the residence to find Morgan outside talking to [WITNESS #3] and [WITNESS #4] in the driveway. Morgan was placed in handcuffs and searched by Pfc. Matthews. Morgan was worried about his dogs being taken, but I advised him that as long as he has someone that can feed and water them, then they can stay. Morgan advised that his neighbor [REDACTED] can and advised I could hand his house keys over to [REDACTED], which I did. Pfc. Matthews placed Morgan in the backseat of his patrol car and transported him to the Floyd County Jail for booking. Before leaving the residence, I spoke with [WITNESS #3] and [WITNESS #4] and got an updated address for [WITNESS #3] and their phone numbers.
I then made my way to the jail to finish booking paperwork. While en route to the jail, I was communicating back and forth with [WITNESS #6] who was telling me that they have yet to find placement, but are still working on it. This was approx. 1600hrs at this point. [WITNESS #6] continued to say that the only way they could take custody was if I took custody first. I contacted the juvenile court to advise of the situation as DFCS had yet to contact them to request custody. Juvenile court confirmed with me that they do not need the approval of county and regional, to request and gain custody of the children, like [WITNESS #6] had been advising me, that all they needed to do was call their intake officer and they will grant them custody. After leaving the jail, at approx. 1630hrs, I called [WITNESS #6] to see what the update was, but the call went straight to voicemail. I then sent her a text immediately after asking the same thing, but I never got a response.
I spoke with Sgt. Wacker several times for updates and attempts at trying to make contact with someone at DFCS, but the attempts were unsuccessful. At this point it was past 1700hrs and the after school care was closing at 1800hrs. I arrived back at our police station some time around approx. 1730hrs. I was updating Capt. Lom on the situation and advising her that Sgt. Wacker and I have tried to reach out to at least 4 DFCS workers, two who were directly involved with this case, but no one was answering. Capt. Lom called [WITNESS #6], but got no answer. [WITNESS #6] called her back shortly after and asked how could she help Capt. Lom, as if she was clueless to the situation. Capt. Lom advised we were needing an update on where we were with custody and placement because it was approx. 5 minutes until 1800hrs, the kids are still in after school care at two different schools and we were all waiting for a solution from DFCS. At that same time, Sgt. Wacker sent a text advising that he spoke with Juvenile Court and they confirmed that, at 1700hrs, DFCS contacted them and gained an order giving them custody of the children. [WITNESS #6] was still talking to Capt. Lom advising her that yes, they gained custody and she already has [WITNESS #7] on her way to the residence to pick up the kids from the caregivers.
We reminded [WITNESS #6] that the caregivers are both in jail and the children are still at the school. [WITNESS #6] acted surprised and clueless to this information, despite us telling her several times over the last few hours that the parents were going to be arrested, which is why the children needed to be placed. [WITNESS #6] was also told in the initial conversation that the residence was soon to be closed by building inspection and no one will even be allowed to be there in the meantime. [WITNESS #6] told us that she will reroute her case worker to the school to pick up the children. The case worker arrived at the school to pick up the children. According to [WITNESS #1] and [WITNESS #2], the children calm and fine up to the point that they saw the case worker and at that point they immediately got upset. [WITNESS #1] and [WITNESS #2] also advised me that, upon receiving the children, [WITNESS #7] told the children “Don’t worry, you’re going back home”.
I followed up this day, 5/8/2025, with [WITNESS #2] who advised me that the kids were present at school and that they had been placed with a family in Lindale. All photos and documentation uploaded to the report.
[End of Narrative]
The information below reflects all details available at the time of publication and was obtained directly from the official court database accessible to the public. Court records are subject to change at any time at the court’s discretion. The Georgia Gazette is not responsible for errors, omissions, or discrepancies within the docket. No information provided should be construed as legal advice or opinion. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Case History:
2/13/26
INDICTMENT FILED
What this means: Daniel Jay Morgan was formally charged by a grand jury in Floyd County Superior Court with cruelty to children in the first degree. This means a group of citizens reviewed evidence and determined there was probable cause to believe Morgan allegedly deprived children of necessary sustenance. An indictment is required for felony cases and moves the case from the magistrate court to superior court.
2/13/26
BOND SET AT $10,000
What this means: Daniel Jay Morgan was granted bond in the amount of $10,000 in Floyd County Magistrate Court on warrant 25CW0300. The bond conditions prohibit Morgan from having any contact with the alleged victims. If Morgan posts this bond, he can be released from jail while his case is pending, but he must follow all bond conditions or risk having his bond revoked.
2/27/26
PUBLIC DEFENDER APPOINTED
What this means: Daniel Jay Morgan was determined to be indigent and unable to afford an attorney.
Nicha Rakpanichmanee from the Office of the Public Defender in the Rome Judicial Circuit was appointed to represent Morgan in case 26CR00282B-004. This ensures Morgan has legal representation as guaranteed by the Constitution.
3/3/26
NOTICE OF ARRAIGNMENT ISSUED
What this means: Daniel Jay Morgan was formally notified to appear at Floyd County Superior Court on March 27, 2026, at 9:00 AM in Courtroom C for his arraignment. This is where Morgan will enter his plea to the charges – typically guilty, not guilty, or nolo contendere (no contest). The notice warns that failure to appear could result in an arrest warrant.
3/4/26
DEFENSE DISCOVERY REQUEST FILED
What this means: Morgan’s attorney Nicha Rakpanichmanee filed a formal request for the prosecution to turn over evidence in the case. The 11-point demand includes witness lists, grand jury testimony, exculpatory evidence, and other materials the defense is entitled to review. This helps ensure Morgan receives a fair trial by allowing his attorney to examine the evidence against him.
3/27/26
ARRAIGNMENT SCHEDULED
What this means: Daniel Jay Morgan is scheduled to appear at Floyd County Superior Court at 9:00 AM for his arraignment hearing. At this hearing, the formal charges will be read, and Morgan will enter his plea to the two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree. This is a key step that will determine how the case proceeds – whether to trial, plea negotiations, or other resolution.
4/2/26
NOTICE OF TRIAL ISSUED
What this means: Daniel Jay Morgan was formally notified that his case has been scheduled for trial in Floyd County Superior Court. This notice informs Morgan and his attorney Nicha Rakpanichmanee of the trial date and requires their appearance. The case is moving toward resolution through the court system after Morgan’s earlier arraignment.
4/2/26
WITNESS SUBPOENA ISSUED
What this means: The court issued a subpoena requiring a witness to appear and testify in Daniel Jay Morgan’s trial for the cruelty to children charges. Subpoenas are legal orders that compel witnesses to come to court – failure to appear can result in contempt of court charges.
4/22/26
CALENDAR CALL SCHEDULED
What this means: Daniel Jay Morgan is scheduled to appear at Floyd County Superior Court at 9:00 AM for a calendar call hearing regarding his jury trial. At calendar call, the court confirms the case is ready for trial, addresses any last-minute motions or plea negotiations, and finalizes the trial schedule. This is typically the final step before jury selection begins.