Salinas man gets 45 to life in prison for attempted murder, armed robbery

A Salinas man was sentenced to 45 years to life in prison for premeditated murder and armed robbery.

The incident happened at the Quality Market in on Williams Road the night of Jan. 3, 2017.

According to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, Mark P. Morris, 27, walked into the market wearing a blue bandana over his face, with a beanie and a hoodie covering his head.

“Upon entering Quality Market, Morris pulled out a large revolver and pointed it at the owner of the store,” the DA’s Office said.

Morris threatened to kill the store clerk and the owner. He took approximately $1000 in cash and walked out.

After leaving the store, the DA’s Office said Morris waited for the store owner to come outside. The owner followed Morris carrying a semi-automatic handgun.

“Morris fired at Filice (the owner) twice intending to kill him,” said the DA’s Office.

A shootout ensued between the store owner and Morris. One of the rounds fired by Morris hit a residential trailer on Williams Road. A father inside the trailer was struck in the shoulder. Investigators said the bullet fractured the man’s bones and exited his armpit.

Salinas police responded to Quality Market and found a key that Morris dropped during the robbery.

A gray 2002 Toyota Camry was found parked around the corner from the store. The car was registered to Morris’ mother.

“SPD detectives searched the car and found a backpack, several white cloth gloves and a two boxes of American Eagle brand .44 magnum ammunition, as well as Sig Sauer brand ammunition, both designed for a revolver. The detectives also found a black beanie, grey on the inside, which matched the beanie worn by the robber in the surveillance. Additionally, the detectives located paystubs in Morris’s name with his address. Morris’s right thumbprint was found on the American Eagle brand box of ammunition,” said the DA’s Office.

Monterey County Probation officers did a search of Morris’s residence. They found several white gloves in Morris’s bedroom drawer. The gloves matched the white gloves inside the car, as well as the white gloves worn by Morris during the robbery.

The next day, Morris called Salinas police and reported his car stolen. At trial, Morris admitted he drove the car but denied he was the robber.

DNA mixtures on the beanie, ski mask and the gloves matched Morris.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations looked up Morris’s cell phone records and found out his phone was used near Quality Market 13 minutes after the robbery.

Morris was convicted of willful and premeditated attempted murder using a firearm, including robbery at gunpoint, shooting at an inhabited dwelling causing great bodily injury, intimidation of witnesses and possession of a firearm and ammunition as a felon.