By Angeljean Chiaramida
The Daily News of Newburyport
NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — A North Andover man is being held without bail after surviving a suicide attempt at Newburyport District Court yesterday where he was waiting to be arraigned on a previous warrant.
Jonathan R. Morgan, 25, of 34 Royal Crest Drive, Apt. 9, North Andover, was transported from the Anna Jaques Hospital psychiatric ward to the State Street courthouse by Newburyport Police at 10 a.m. Morgan was wanted on a warrant out of Lawrence District Court charging he violated his pre-trial probation stemming from a 2013 incident in which he set a fire in his employer’s bathroom.
A call for EMTs went out over the police scanner less than a half-hour later stating a man being held in the court holding cell had attempted to slit his own throat. Assistant Clerk Magistrate Ann Archer said Morgan was taken to Anna Jaques Hospital by 10:55 a.m.
According to the warrant document for Morgan’s arrest, he was being sought for violating pretrial conditions for a 2013 charge brought by North Andover police.
About a year ago, Morgan was charged with arson for setting a fire at his former place of employment, Central Metal Finishing, the night of Sept. 11. Morgan allegedly ignited a shirt in a sink in a restroom at the 80 Flagship Drive, North Andover business. The fire happened around 7 p.m. that evening, according to North Andover police.
Other employees quickly extinguished the fire, which charred the sink, police said. Morgan was arrested at Holy Family Hospital after a week-long investigation by North Andover Fire Department Investigator Jeffrey Crosby and Detective Daniel Cronin. The company fired Morgan, according to a report filed with the court.
Morgan pleaded not guilty to a charge of arson in Lawrence District Court, but a 58A dangerousness hearing was scheduled to determine if he should held without bail, considered a danger to the public. At the dangerousness hearing in late September, 2013, Judge Mark Sullivan ordering him held without bail until Oct. 23, 2013, for a probable cause hearing.
Although arson is a felony that can carry a 10-year prison term after conviction, Essex District Attorney spokeswoman Carrie Kimball-Monahan said that after the 58A hearing the court reviewed the circumstances of his case and reduced the charge.
Morgan is currently charged with burning of wood and other property, Kimball-Monahan said, a charge that can be heard on the district court level. If convicted, the charge carries a possible sentence of from one year in the house of correction to three years in state prison.
When the 58A hold expired, Morgan was released on $7,500 cash bail, Kimball-Monahan said, with conditions he stay away from his former employment facility, continue counselling, complete a mental health evaluation and comply all recommendations.
Kimball-Monahan said the warrant was issued because he violated those pretrial conditions. It is not known how he ended up at Anna Jaques hospital.
Archer confirmed that Morgan’s injury happened while he was at the courthouse, but citing federal privacy laws related to medical information, Archer could not discuss the type of injury Morgan sustained or how it happened. According to Archer, she did not believe any other of the Newburyport courthouse staff were injured during the incident, which is being investigated internally.
According to Newburyport Police, Morgan was treated in the Anna Jaques emergency room and returned to the courthouse around 1 p.m., where his arraignment continued and he was held without bail.
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