Bloomington police arrested 27-year-old Morris Hanson Monday night for his connection to an armed robbery that was reported to have occurred Sept. 2.
Officers responded to a welfare check at Motel 6 at 7 a.m. Sept. 3 when they found a 39-year-old man with a bandage wrapped around his head. He told police he had been robbed and beaten in the head with a handgun by two men the night before.
The man told police he met Hanson outside of Motel 6 and expressed that he wanted to buy methamphetamine. Hanson left and returned with 19-year-old Teven Johnson before the victim bought a small amount of meth for $35.
The three men then went up to the victim’s room so that he could buy more meth. The victim told police he planned to buy $700 worth of meth before selling it for a profit.
Instead of completing the deal, Hanson allegedly began hitting the 39-year-old in the head with the bottom of his handgun. The victim said Hanson and Johnson then reached into his pockets and stole the $700, as well as his girlfriend’s ID card and debit card.
The victim told police the two men left the scene in a car. Officers found the two cards on the ground outside of the motel the next day.
Police used a photo line-up to identify Johnson and Hanson as suspects.
They located Johnson on Oct. 2 while he was on home detention and probation for two 2016 robbery cases.
He initially told police he was at his girlfriend’s house at the time of the alleged robbery, but he began to cry when police suggested he may have been at the hotel. He then told police he had made a bad decision.
Johnson then admitted he had been at the motel but said he did not go into the victim’s room.
When officers escorted Johnson to a police car, he began to run away with the handcuffs still on his wrists. Officers caught up to him and booked him in Monroe County Jail.
Hanson was arrested for robbery, a level three felony, while Johnson was arrested for robbery and also for attempting to escape.
Christine Fernando
