YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County assistant prosecutor Rob Andrews told jurors Wednesday in the John E. Morgan murder trial that when Morgan shot Danny Peek Sr. July 31, 2022, at Peek’s home on East Florida Avenue on the South Side, Peek was running away with his back turned to Morgan.

“Danny Peek was at least a car length away, running away from the defendant when the defendant shot him in the back,” Andrews said during opening statements in the trial before Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. The trial resumes this morning.

Setting the scene on the night in question, Andrews said Morgan was going to the East Florida address to pick up his daughter, Kaitlyn, and her 2-year-old son to take them out to eat. Morgan had a “dashcam” installed in his car.

Andrews said, when Morgan arrived, “he came flying into that driveway.”

Andrews proceeded to say that Morgan, 47, of Campbell, pulled his gun out of his holster as soon as he got out of the car and fired a shot into the ground as Peek ran off the porch with his shirt off.

Peek then turned his back to Morgan, according to Andrews, before Morgan pistol whipped Peek in the back and dropped his gun near the driver’s side front of his car.

A physical struggle then ensued, Andrew said. Peek, 46, who was about half the size of Morgan, was hitting and kicking Morgan.

Then Mary Morgan, John Morgan’s estranged wife, who was living with Peek, came off the porch, along with Peek’s son, Daniel Jr. to “help his father,” Andrews said. They got “several strikes in on the defendant.”

Andrews said John Morgan’s dashcam video then shows Daniel Jr. “disengage and heads toward the back of the house.”

Then Danny Peek Sr. “throws the defendant by the shirt and unfortunately for him, he throws the defendant right back to the gun,” Andrews said.

As Danny Peek Sr. ran away, John Morgan fired one shot that hit Peek Sr., Andrews said.

The assistant prosecutor added that John Morgan tried to fire more shots, but the gun jammed. Danny Peek Sr. collapsed in the back yard and later died. Morgan stayed behind and called 911.

Andrews said Morgan gave a statement to police later, but what he said happened did not match what the video shows. He said Morgan will try to argue that he killed Peek in self-defense, but self-defense does not apply.

DEFENSE

Defense attorney Justin Weatherly said during opening statements there is more to the story than just what the dashcam video shows.

Weatherly cited John Morgan’s poor health and an incident that happened several years ago. He first said that when John Morgan was 30, his heart stopped. Then, Weatherly said, several years ago, a car pulled alongside John Morgan “and randomly opens fire,” shooting into his car 18 times before it crashed.

That led John Morgan to install a dashcamera in his car, get a concealed carry permit and a gun. Weatherly said John Morgan’s marriage to Mary was broken years ago and it is not a reason for animosity between John Morgan and Peek Sr. John Morgan has since entered a relationship with another woman, Weatherly said.

However, six weeks before the shooting, John Morgan decided to fill out divorce papers. He needed her address at Peek’s house and called Mary for it. Weatherly said Danny Peek Sr. answered the phone while he was intoxicated and threatened John Morgan.

On the day of the shooting, John Morgan made arrangements to pick up Kaitlyn and his grandson for a Sunday meal, but Danny Peek Sr. found out about it and was waiting on the porch for John Morgan to arrive, Weatherly said

John Morgan “can’t last two seconds in a fight because his heart will give out,” Weatherly said, so John Morgan drew his weapon and fired a warning shot in the ground.

Weatherly added that even though prosecutors said John Morgan then “pistol whipped” Daniel Peek Sr., that is not what happened.

“He is throwing the gun away because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone,” Weatherly said.

The two men tussled, but then Daniel Peek Jr. came down from the porch and “kicks (John Morgan) square in the back of the head,” Weatherly said. The two “brutally beat” Morgan, he added.

DAUGHTER

Kaitlyn Morgan, 23, who lives on East Florida Avenue, was the first witness in the case. She called Danny Peek Sr. her “stepdad.” She said she tried to meet her father at the corner instead of in front of the house on East Florida because Daniel Peek Sr. had learned that her father was coming over.

She ended up seeing her father pull into the driveway of the house on East Florida as she was walking down the street. She said she did not see much of the shooting because of a bush in the front yard blocking her view.

Under cross examination, Brandon Henderson, another of John Morgan’s attorneys, read a text message Kaitlyn Morgan had written saying that Danny Peek Sr. “attacked (Morgan), so my dad shot at” Danny Peek Sr. She agreed that Henderson read the text correctly.

“So you would agree with me that on that day, you saw Daniel Peek (Sr.) assaulting your father?”

She replied, “I did not see their interaction.”

“But you could see Danny’s arm swinging onto your dad, correct?” Henderson asked

“I could also see my dad swinging at” Danny Peek Sr., she answered.

Henderson repeated the question, and Kaitlyn Morgan answered that she “barely” saw the fighting.

Henderson then read the text again: “I could see Danny’s arm swinging onto my dad.” Henderson asked if that was correct.

“It also said I couldn’t see all of it,” she replied.

When Henderson asked her if she felt she had to “bite her tongue” because Daniel Peek Sr. had “threatened your mother,” Kaitlyn Morgan said she did not remember.

So he prepared to read a text message from July 31, 2022.

The attorneys then held a sidebar with Sweeney before convening into her chambers. Sweeney then decided to send the jury to an early lunch.

When Sweeney took the bench about an hour later, she briefly questioned the witness outside of the hearing of the jury and reminded her she was under oath and said the trial would resume this morning.

erunyan@vindy.com