BY DAVID GRANT LONG

In a phone conversation just before being shot to death, Greg Morris told a friend that he was going to ask roommate Bradley Scott Cassels to move out of the Cortez apartment they shared, according to an affidavit requesting a search warrant for Morris’s phone records that was filed in Montezuma County Court Wednesday.

Morris, 38, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds on the floor of the residence, 111 Pinon Drive, Apt. 1, by police on the evening of Jan. 11.

Cassels, who has been charged with both first-degree and second-degree murder, allegedly called 911 to report "that he had shot his roommate," according to the statement of Frank Vanecek, an agent with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation who is assisting the Cortez Police.

The 46-year-old suspect came outside with his hands up when police arrived, according to Chief Roy Lane, but made no statement after being advised of his right to remain silent. A 9mm semi-automatic handgun believed to be the murder weapon was found inside.

During an interview with Cortez Detective Jim Shethar, Morris’s friend stated that his phone call with the victim concerning Cassels’ eviction ended at 7 p.m., only a couple minutes before the 911 call was placed, according to Vanecek’s affidavit. The agent explained "the timing and sequence of events leading up to the shooting" are important to establish the nature of the crime.

Morris’s phone records concerning that and other possible calls could contain "information which may have a bearing as to a better understanding of motive and the degree to which premeditation may have taken place," Vanecek pointed out, "or reveal information which may be mitigating in nature."

Conviction of first-degree murder, which can be punished by execution, requires proof that the person acted after a period of deliberation, or thought, although this can be relatively brief; the elements of second-degree murder do not include premeditation, but are acts done in the heat of the moment, or crimes of passion.