Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - Jailer charged with murder spent time in prison

Jailer charged with murder spent time in prison

Sep 24, 2006 - 02:06:48 CDT

FARGO (AP) - The Barnes County jailer charged with killing a Valley City State University student has served time in federal prison for attempted murder, authorities say.

Moe Maurice Gibbs, 34, of Valley City, was ordered held without bond Thursday on a charge of Class AA murder in the Sept. 13 death of Mindy Morgenstern, 22. The criminal complaint filed against him alleges he killed Morgenstern, of New Salem, by cutting her throat.

Fargo police also say the state crime lab had matched DNA from a 2004 rape with Gibbs' DNA. Police said the evidence was being turned over to the county state's attorney for charges.

Before moving to North Dakota, when he was known as Glen Dale Morgan Jr., he served more than five years of a 10-year sentence for a 1992 attempted premeditated murder charge brought in military court.

Federal officials could not immediately be reached on Saturday to discuss details of the crime.

In April 1993, while Gibbs was in the U.S. Navy, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years for attempted premeditated murder, the military said.

Gibbs was a naval inmate at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., from January 1994 until April 1998, said Janet Wray, the fort's public information officer.

Gibbs also served time in federal facilities in Oklahoma City, Springfield, Mo., and Phoenix, federal prison officials said.

He was released June 18, 1999, the Federal Bureau of Prisons Web site said.

Gibbs' full sentence would have expired April 6, 2003, said Fred Johnston, an officer at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City.

On the resume Gibbs provided to the Barnes County Correctional Facility, Gibbs said he served from August 1990 to July 1999 as a search and rescue supervisor in Whidbey Island, Wash. An officer there said he could not confirm when or if Gibbs did work there.

Wray said Gibbs was a sailor in the U.S. Navy, although she was not sure how long he had served and could not disclose how and when he had been discharged.

In Valley City, authorities would not comment on whether they knew about Gibbs' attempted murder conviction.

When applying for the jailer position in Barnes County, Gibbs' authorized a background check, his personnel file says.

The search included a criminal history check.

Barnes County state's attorney Brad Cruff said he would not comment on what goes into a background check for a position at the jail.

Gibbs is being held in the Cass County Jail without bond. Gibbs is scheduled to appear in Barnes County District Court on Oct. 3 for a preliminary hearing.

Gibbs attended Mayville State University in spring 2004, then lived in Fargo and West Fargo for a couple of years before moving to Valley City.

From Feb. 24 to mid-April, Gibbs worked as a night security officer at Valley City State, school officials said.

He enrolled in classes at Valley City State University last spring but withdrew before classes began. He lived in the apartment with his pregnant wife and stepdaughter.

News > State

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Comments

shocked wrote on Sep 28, 2006 11:40 PM:

" what happened to mindy morgenstern was very unfortunate, my heart goes out to her and her family, i just hope that the people in north dakota dont look at every african american male as a murderer cuz of this incident "

heartfelt wrote on Sep 28, 2006 6:36 PM:

" My sincerest condolences go out to Mindy's family!!!!!! As an ex and mother of one of his children i am so disgusted to be linked to a monster as "Moe" Glen Morgan. They should lock him up and throw away the key!!! I will be praying for Mindy's family to have the strength to get threw this. "

jojo wrote on Sep 28, 2006 2:37 AM:

" the number of sex offenders in this state is unreal and people say if he was an indian he would have to go thru much more ummm look on the sex offender web site i HIGHLY doubt being a native american makes you have to go thru more i feel personally that the sex offenders get off way to easily the punishment is not harsh enough for them they take away alot when they rape someone people with drugs get a worse punishment then someone who rapes some one seems a bit backwards to me i dont approve of drugs but rape is just as bad if not worse in my opinion and for them to NOT do a FULL back ground check on this maniac and allow him to work in a college is absurd i feel for the family of that girl and think they should punish this man severely if you can even call him a man..... "

Scared wrote on Sep 26, 2006 4:06 PM:

" Let's just face it, North Dakota is not safe anymore. It's amazing the horrible crimes that are happening. I live in the country, surrounded by family & I'm still scared. This one hit home pretty hard. I don't think he should get the death penalty, I think he should have to suffer in prison for the rest of his life with the guilt (minus a few body parts of course). I feel sorry for the family that he had & the troubles they are about to face. "

concerned citizen wrote on Sep 26, 2006 12:18 AM:

" This is a tragic situation and I feel for the family, but it also sends a message to people in North Dakota that the state is becoming more violent and situations such as these are occuring more often. There needs to be more accountability for Law Enfocement agencies and who they have working for them. Take for example the Burleigh County detention facility, they have recently hired an individual with a charge of harrassing communication. They also have a lieutenant that tossed around his wife, now ex-wife in his own driveway. You could ask the officer that was their, but he has been fired. Another jailer made suicidal comments when a deputy went to check on him, because he did not show up for work. He was taken to the phyciatric unit, but was back to work the next week. Another incident is a secretary coming in after hours, filling out a bond envelope and posting the bond for an individual in jail for Posession of Meth with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a school. That people is just the tip of the iceberg. "

upsetting wrote on Sep 24, 2006 10:57 PM:

" How could north dak. allow someone like this in our state or let alone working in law on school campuses and county jails? women doesn't make you wonder who your lay down next to at night or who lives down the hall/street from you? scary! "

discouraged wrote on Sep 24, 2006 10:42 PM:

" To online editor :Goes to show you this guy appears to be showing his true colors,articles shows more and more each day why he chose to change his name. Admit it North Dakota made a mistake by letting this murderous convict roam around in our state and even let him change his name so he could prowl on his next victim and an innocent life was loss because of it. PROTECT OUR COLLEGE STUDENTS. "

really wrote on Sep 24, 2006 8:46 PM:

" To N Doll. I am not sticking up for this lunatic but I know people don't answer all questions honestly. If he doesn't give the information that he has changed his name I don't know what else the Sheriffs Department can do. When you do a criminal history check it's not going to reveal that unless he had provided that information earlier on a previous arrest. I would bet you haven't answered questions to the fullest on resumes or in your dealings with the public "

Gee wrote on Sep 24, 2006 3:14 PM:

" Where can the State go wrong, it is here. who is going to do something. if you were a Indian you would have to go through a extensive back ground check with the Bureau of Indian Affairs , before you can be hired.and yet here we go this is total outrage to have something like this happen to this young Lady , My Sympathies go out to her Family. But this is a wake up call North Dakota , seems alot of this is happening on Resvation as well. Big organized Drugs then the Tribes want jurisdication. if you are part of the Councils Family if not well you can get twenty years or so . "

amf wrote on Sep 24, 2006 1:51 PM:

" And to think this person roamed the halls of the dormitory at night working as a security guard with unsuspecting female students nearby. He probably kept a master key when he resigned. All I can say is that as a parent, I am very concerned about what type of individuals will be amidst my daughter when she begans college in a couple of years. Those parents must be breathing a sigh of relief it wasn't their daughters he preyed upon. My prayers to the family of Mindy Morgenstern, sadly it could've happened to any of us. "

hmmmm wrote on Sep 24, 2006 1:21 PM:

" makes one wonder how many of these creeps are walking our streets acting like a nice guy and looking for his next victim. "

N Doll wrote on Sep 24, 2006 10:47 AM:

" I can't believe that they hired a person like that I mean come on its not that hard to find all the information out that you can on a person I would be doing a criminal backround check on the person even if they said it was clear and most applications ask you if you have used any other names for jobs so I think they didn't do anything to check his back round and now they look bad to the state of North Dakota maybe next time they will make sure they check the backround of thier workers "

JUST wrote on Sep 24, 2006 10:20 AM:

" HANG HIM HIGH "

TH wrote on Sep 24, 2006 9:26 AM:

" How is it that a person who has been to 4 Federal Prision's become a Jailer? Unreal. "

57DodgeLover wrote on Sep 24, 2006 9:22 AM:

" Gibbs changed his name - how would the Barnes County Sheriff's Department know otherwise, unless Gibbs told them? Still, it must not be hard to become a jailer. "

dah wrote on Sep 24, 2006 8:51 AM:

" didn't a red flag warning come up when it was learned that he changed his name? and to know that he worked around children and young adults is very scary. lets do more background screening. "

to big of a hurry wrote on Sep 24, 2006 4:24 AM:

" It seems Barnes County was in to big of a hurry to hire someone. They have all the connections to do gaad background checks and I guess they didn't follow though to well on this one. "

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