HONOLULU (KHON2) — Robert Morris, the man accused of shooting a law enforcement officer, which led to a one-hour standoff in Kapahulu, was scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday, but he never made it to the courtroom.
Annette Morris says her husband, Robert, wasn’t perfect, but he has a good heart.
“He’s a good human being. He’s a good man, He’s a good father,” said Annette Morris. “He’ll give you the last crumb, give you the last penny. He’ll give you the shirt off his back. literally the slippers off his feet, to a total stranger.”
Robert Morris is facing serious federal charges, including assaulting a federal law enforcement officer and having a firearm as a convicted felon.
The charges stem from Tuesday’s standoff in Kapahulu that started when drug enforcement agents tried to serve a narcotics search warrant on the couple’s home on Herbert Street.
According to court documents, Morris opened fire from inside, hitting an officer in the hand and sparking a 16-hour standoff that shut down the neighborhood.
“I didn’t even see that he had the gun to shoot the officer. All I heard was the glass shattering,” said Annette.
Annette says her husband knew that once law enforcement surrounded their home that his freedom was over. During negotiations, some of which he livestreamed on his Facebook page, she says Morris made one request – to see his elderly parents from Kauai before surrendering.
“The deal, we made it where he could see the parents. We’ll sit down, like family have a dinner outside the house, small talk, and right after that he would have left peacefully,” said Morris.
Although his parents were flown to Oahu on Tuesday afternoon, he didn’t see them. Morris finally surrendered around 1 a.m. on Wednesday.
“He’s gonna be gone for a while. His parents aren’t doing so good as in health. If his parents go, he wouldn’t be able to walk into the funeral and see them. He didn’t want that last image stuck in his head,” said Annette Morris.
Robert Morris has felony gun and drug trafficking convictions from 2009. In court filings, federal investigators say that after he was taken into custody, they recovered a 40-caliber handgun and 45 rounds of ammunition inside the home. If convicted on these latest charges, Morris faces decades, possibly life in prison.
When asked if she had a message to neighbors who were displaced during the standoff, Morris says her husband has apologized.
“He deeply apologizes for what he did. I mean, he didn’t purposely mean to do it,” said Annette.
Robert Morris was supposed to face a federal judge for his initial appearance this morning, but his attorney told the judge he was too sick to attend and was in the hospital. The hearing was postponed until Monday.