Man arrested after stalking and harassing his former counselor for a year, police say

IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls man is behind bars after he continually tried to meet up with a woman he allegedly stalked for over a year.

Marty Morrow, 41, repeatedly texted a woman who formally acted as his counselor and wanted to meet up at a store, according to an affidavit of probable of cause obtained by EastIdahoNews.com. Earlier this month, he drove to the Big Lots on East 17th Street where Idaho Falls Police officers surrounded him and found a loaded handgun under the driver’s seat of his vehicle.

Morrow is a convicted felon and was charged with felony unlawful possession of a firearm and felony first-degree stalking.

At the time of the arrest, court documents show a no-contact order was in place between Morrow and the victim after he threw a can of peas at her window on July 7 and shattered the glass. In the days following, Morrow called and texted the woman, court documents say.

Police cited Morrow with misdemeanor second-degree stalking and he was released because Idaho law states an officer can not arrest a suspect for a misdemeanor unless they witness the crime.

On Sept. 3, the victim received several strange text messages from a man wishing to speak with her. He was later identified as Morrow and mentioned he saw a website where she was listed as a counselor. He asked to meet her at Target on Hitt Road and continually told her to make sure “no cops” were there.

“I don’t care if u think I’m Marty. Cause he’s the one that will get into trouble,” the text from Morrow said. “So I know the cops are going to be at target. Your really just a little baby girl that can’t talk to someone or deal with her problem by herself. Like a woman should.”

The victim told police she was positive the text came from Morrow because he called her and recognized the voice.

Police tried to locate Morrow and on Sept. 6, the victim called police and said he texted her “I see u” from a new number. The texts continued throughout the day.

“Being a therapist u should no how trying to clear up my head will help me get better,” one of the text messages read. “But u know u ignoring me can make my head worse.”

Detectives write in their report that over the next week, Morrow created a fake Facebook profile using the victim’s photo. He posed as the victim in the profile attempting to “pick fights” with others.

On Sept. 13, police knew Morrow intended to meet the victim at a bench in front of Big Lots. With officers watching in the parking lot, Morrow pulled up in a white Chevy Cavalier. Police cornered him and placed him in custody.

Detectives say they found a loaded .45 caliber handgun under the driver’s seat and his phone showed he had logged into several apps linking him to the victim. The phone’s Facebook app showed Marrow logged into the fake Facebook profile of the victim.

Morrow’s phone showed messages of him asking people to have sex, according to court documents, and a Google timeline showed Morrow was in the location of the victim’s employer and home on Sept. 10.

Morrow has a lengthy criminal history. He was convicted in 2007 of felony delivery of a controlled substance. On March 7, he failed to return to the Bonneville County Jail after checking out for work release. He was serving time on a 60-day sentence for a misdemeanor malicious injury to property charge after he smashed a woman’s glass door with a bike tire in December.

Idaho court records list over 20 criminal cases dating back to 1991.

Felony unlawful possession of a firearm is punishable with up to five years in prison and felony first-degree stalking holds up to 10 years in prison.

Morrow remains held in the Bonneville County Jail on $100,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 27.