John Powell Morgan III Arrested for 2021 Shooting Death of Scott Dingman

Detectives from the Boulder City Police Department arrested John Powell Morgan III on Saturday evening at a car dealership in Henderson. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on one count of open murder with the use of a deadly weapon. The charge relates to the May 31, 2021, incident in which Scott Dingman was shot in the roadway of Fairway Drive. Both men were armed and had been drinking that night.

Boulder City Police originally determined Morgan acted in self-defense, a decision that led the district attorney to file no charges. That determination changed after investigators executed a search warrant on Morgan’s residence in April 2025. The release stated that new evidence recovered during that search supported additional investigation over the following year, resulting in probable cause for the arrest.

Morgan appeared in Boulder City Justice Court on Monday. Judge Christopher Tilman recused himself because he had previously represented Morgan in a separate matter. Judge Gregory Mills presided over the hearing via video conference. Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Giles told the court that the case was reopened due to new video evidence and the identification of witnesses who were missing during the initial submission.

Giles noted that video Morgan initially denied existed has now been located, though several segments corresponding to essential times in the case were deleted or renamed. Morgan’s attorney, Louis Schneider, argued that his client was not a flight risk and requested bail be set at $50,000. He pointed to a video of Dingman holding Morgan in a choke-hold with a loaded gun two hours before the shooting. Giles argued for bail to be denied, but Judge Mills set the amount at $1 million.

Schneider said Morgan will plead not guilty at his arraignment scheduled for 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. He told the court that the case is more than five years old and involves a lot of conjecture and hearsay. He argued that if Morgan intended to flee, he had ample opportunities to do so over the last five-plus years. A copy of the video Schneider referenced was provided to the Review-Journal, which ran it online. Dingman family attorney Maggie McLetchie told the Review-Journal the video shows the two friends engaged in horseplay, a characterization backed by the police report.

Teri Kerr, Morgan’s mother, spoke to the Review-Journal after the proceedings. She stated that her son is innocent and that his life has been threatened. She attributed the arrest to dirty cops and corrupt politicians. She told the outlet, I fear for my son’s life while he’s in jail. He fears for his own life because we have all been threatened. He’s very kind. He’s very gentle. He has family. He isn’t a violent person.

Joshua Dingman, Scott’s brother, said in an email that the arrest is a huge step toward justice and accountability. He expressed gratitude to investigators Chris Slack and James Garcia for moving the case forward. He stated that accountability must extend to the original investigators and the records department manager for their roles in what he called a corruption and cover-up. A city spokeswoman said the city has no further comment at this time.

Prior to this arrest, Morgan was arrested in his Boulder City home in April 2026 on drug-related charges. A redacted arrest report states that Officer Garcia observed a white powdery substance consistent with cocaine in a glass bowl on a countertop. He also observed a digital scale and Ziploc-type baggies nearby. BCPD stated at the time that this arrest was unrelated to the fatal shooting of Dingman.