2018-01-09 Morgan

Attempted robbery and killing at La Bella's Pizza

Clayton Jerrell Morgan, 36, was shot and killed by an armed employee during a botched armed robbery of La Bella's Pizza at 3801 Olsen Blvd. on the night of January 9, 2018. Morgan's alleged accomplice, Ruben Ryel Rios, was charged under Texas's felony murder rule for his role in the robbery, and after years of shifting charges, ultimately pleaded guilty to murder in 2024, receiving a 20-year sentence.

The robbery and shooting

On the night of January 9, 2018, Amarillo police were called to La Bella's Pizza at 3801 Olsen Blvd. on a robbery call. Morgan entered through the back door and grabbed an employee by the hood of his sweatshirt, brandishing what looked like a large silver revolver. The weapon was later determined to be a CO2/pellet pistol that had been altered to look like a real firearm.

Morgan forced the employee toward the front of the restaurant. Another employee — armed and licensed to carry a firearm — saw the threat and confronted the two. Morgan pointed the toy gun at the armed employee, who shot him. Morgan was taken to a local hospital, where he died. Rios fled the scene but was located by police hours later in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Canyon Drive and was booked into the Potter County Detention Center on a murder charge, based on his participation in the robbery that led to Morgan's death.

Then-Potter County District Attorney Randall Sims noted that toy guns altered to appear realistic are increasingly difficult for officers — and victims — to identify: "I can tell you, the hostage that got grabbed, I guarantee you he thought [Morgan] had a real gun," Sims said. He also praised the armed employee's handling of the confrontation: "He did all the right things... He handled that situation as well as a peace officer would have."

Grand jury: self-defense, reduced charge

On February 14, 2018, a Potter County grand jury no-billed the armed employee, finding he acted in self-defense (and defense of a third party). In the same proceedings, the grand jury reduced Rios's charge from felony murder to aggravated robbery — both first-degree felonies — and indicted him on that charge instead. Sims explained the office "felt the facts better suit the aggravated robbery, which was the underlying offense for the felony murder" charge, and would make for a stronger case at trial.

Because Rios, then 29, had a prior felony conviction, he faced an enhanced range of 15 to 99 years or life in prison plus a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted of aggravated robbery — above the standard 5-to-99-years range for a first-degree felony.

Re-indictment for murder

In November 2019, Rios was re-indicted, this time on the original murder charge under the felony murder rule, which allows a defendant to be charged with murder for a death occurring during a felony they participated in, even without directly causing the death. He was released on bond following the re-indictment. Attorney Ryan Brown was retained as his defense counsel. In September 2022, KVII reported on the indictment, noting Rios was then 31 (KVII incorrectly framed this as a new development, though court records show the re-indictment dated to 2019).

Plea and sentencing

The case had been headed toward a jury trial set for May 13, 2024. At a pretrial hearing on April 26, 2024, however, Rios accepted a plea bargain. He appeared in the 320th District Court on May 13, 2024, pleaded guilty to murder, and was sentenced to 20 years' confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).

Coverage of the sentencing noted the case as a notable example of Texas's felony murder rule in practice — Rios pleaded guilty to, and was sentenced for, a killing carried out not by him, but by the pizzeria employee who shot his co-conspirator in self-defense.

People

• Clayton Jerrell Morgan — 36; alleged robber; shot and killed by an armed employee during the robbery attempt
• Ruben Ryel Rios — accomplice in the robbery; initially charged with felony murder, reduced to aggravated robbery, then re-indicted for murder; pleaded guilty and sentenced to 20 years in 2024
• Armed employee — unnamed by authorities; licensed to carry; no-billed by grand jury on self-defense grounds

Timeline

Sources

• Grand jury: shooting at restaurant self-defense; alleged accomplice indicted on robbery charge instead of murder — Amarillo Globe-News, Jeff Farris (archived)
• Man who participated in robbery of La Bella's in 2018 indicted for murder — KVII, Matthew Watkins
• Potter County Man Sentenced For Deadly 2018 Robbery of La Bella's Pizza — Newstalk 940, sclark
• Amarillo pizza employee shoots, kills alleged robber; another robber arrested for murder — Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
• Related KVII coverage referenced in above sources: Man shot dead during robbery at local pizza shop; Police identify man killed during attempted robbery at La Bella Pizza