A state grand jury indicted a former New Jersey Department of Corrections lieutenant with stealing ammunition from the agency’s shooting ranges and selling it for hundreds of thousands in profits, prosecutors announced Friday.
The grand jury charged Timothy Morris, a 57-year-old from Ocean County, with 24 charges in the case, including official misconduct and theft. Morris was the agency’s longtime rangemaster, and prosecutors say he profited more than $400,000 between 2019 and 2025 by selling ammunition from the range to the second market.
“This defendant was a law enforcement officer entrusted with the power to use taxpayer resources to run firing ranges for nearly two decades. As alleged in the indictment, he exploited that position of public trust for his own personal benefit,” Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said. “This type of behavior not only depletes public funds, but it also erodes the public’s trust in government. Our office will always work to ensure that people who hold positions of public trust take that privilege and responsibility seriously and we would hold them accountable when they do not.”
Morris ran the Department of Corrections’ four gun ranges for 18 years until his arrest last year. He was in charge of ordering ammunition, and allegedly ordered in excess.
His defense attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.
“Our investigation found that, for years, this defendant allegedly unlawfully padded his paycheck at the taxpayers’ expense,” said Eric L. Gibson, the executive director of Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. “He also failed to report that windfall on his tax returns, further depriving the State, according to this indictment. This case is another clear illustration of the true cost of public corruption, and why pursuing these cases is vital to cutting off wasteful spending and restoring public confidence.”
The indictment also includes five counts of failing to pay state income tax.
