El Paso city Rep. Sam Morgan pleads not guilty to felony aggravated assault

EL PASO, Texas -- Northeast El Paso's representative on city council pleaded not guilty Thursday to a felony aggravated assault charge stemming from his October arrest following a domestic violence incident.

Sam Morgan's appearance, along with his attorney, at the courthouse lasted just a minute or two as a he signed a waiver, declining an arraignment hearing where he would've been formally advised of the criminal complaint against him.

A grand jury recently returned an indictment against Morgan upping the charge to felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was originally charged with assault causing bodily injury, which was a misdemeanor.

The indictment alleges that Morgan assaulted his wife Janet, who has filed for divorce since the Oct. 4 incident, and threatened her with a gun.

ABC-7 had previously reported that Morgan was armed with a handgun at the time of his arrest, based on a police affidavit.

Morgan's case is currently slated to go to trial in late April.