Metro student facing three felony charges for party riot

Boulder police charged a Metro student with three felonies in connection with a disturbance after a Halloween-night party, including inciting a riot, engaging in a riot with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief.

Kristofr Pierce Morgan, 21, was released from jail on a $2,500 bond at 8:00 p.m. Nov. 1. He declined to comment on the incident. Morgan, who has not declared a major, did say he has hired a lawyer to represent him in the case.

One lawyer at the Boulder District Attorneyâs office compared the incident to Boulderâs May 1997 riots, which involved University of Colorado students.

Rob Shapiro, a deputy district attorney, said John Pickering, who is prosecuting cases in the May riots, will probably take this case.

The incident happened on the 800 block of 18th Street in Boulder at about 1:15 a.m. Nov. 1. Police reported a crowd of at least 100 people and a bonfire 15 feet across and at least 4 feet high.

A police arrest report said the suspect was throwing objects toward the police line, taunting police and encouraging others at the party to do the same.

The suspect was screaming, ãparty, party,ä the report said.

When officers asked the man for identification he started to comply, but when someone else encouraged him to run away, he started laughing and moved away, the report said.

The officers tried to disperse the crowd for 30 minutes while the man ran around the party  screaming, waving his arms and taunting police officers.
The report said  the man broke a traffic stop sign and waved it violently at the officers.

ãThe suspect was flagrantly extending both of his middle fingers toward the officers,ä the report said.

Metroâs policy of student conduct says the college can start disciplinary proceedings against students charged with violating the law.

Metro usually sticks to students who commit offenses on the Auraria Campus or whose actions adversely affect the college.

ãThe student disciplinary part of this may or may not take place along with the civil proceedings,ä said Yolanda Ortega-Ericksen, Metro dean of Student Life.