NJ corrections lieutenant accused of $475K ammo theft

🚔 A NJ corrections lieutenant has been indicted on 24 charges, accused of stealing state ammunition and selling it for profit.

💰 Prosecutors say the range master made more than $475,000 through the scheme.

⚖️ Police say he hid income and dodged taxes, while plotting withdrawals to avoid detection.

TRENTON — A state Department of Corrections lieutenant is facing two dozen charges, accused of stealing state-owned ammunition and reselling it for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Timothy Morris, of Ocean County, was indicted by a grand jury on charges of pocketing more than $475,000 through a years-long scheme.

The 57-year-old Bayville resident was suspended from work last year, pending the case's outcome.

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Longtime NJDOC range master oversaw ammunition supply

From 2008 to last year, Morris served as Range Master for the department.

His responsibilities included ordering and overseeing all ammunition at four corrections gun ranges in Annandale, Browns Mills, Maurice River and the Corrections Staff Training Academy in Sea Girt.

Morris had also been in charge of ammunition supply at Special Operations Group Headquarters in Trenton.

State prosecutors said that from at least 2019 until 2025, he intentionally ordered excess ammunition in order to sell it on the secondary market.

Prosecutors: Scheme generated nearly $500K in illegal profits

Prosecutors said he dealt with several buyers in exchange for cash and checks made directly to himself.

Morris’ illegal profits included a vacuum-sealed stash of $60,000 — $100 bills, sealed in bundles of $10,000 each, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said.

According to the indictment, when Morris received checks for large amounts, he made various smaller cash transactions at various banks over several days.

That way, withdrawals would not trigger any transaction reporting requirements meant to detect suspicious activity.

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Charges include official misconduct, theft and tax violations

For example, in 2021, Morris allegedly withdrew $11,300 over the course of three days in August.

In 2022, he allegedly withdrew more than $14,000 over a four-day span in January.

Morris was also accused of failing to pay state income tax from the 2020 to 2024 tax years.

Altogether, prosecutors said he failed to report a total of more than $418,000 in income.

The indictment charges him with the following 24 counts:
▪️ official misconduct (second-degree)
▪️ theft by unlawful taking (second-degree)
▪️ financial facilitation of criminal activity (second-degree)
▪️ 11 counts of financial facilitation of criminal activity (third-degree)
▪️ five counts of failure to pay or turn over taxes (third-degree)
▪️ five counts of filing or preparing a fraudulent return (third-degree)

He was initially charged with second-degree counts of official misconduct and theft and third-degree structuring financial transactions.

“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,” Davenport said in a written statement.

“This type of behavior not only depletes public funds, but it also erodes the public’s trust in government.”

“The alleged actions of former Lt. Morris were a betrayal of the public trust and the values we demand at the New Jersey Department of Corrections,��� Acting NJDOC Commissioner Victoria L. Kuhn said.

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