Halifax man with violent criminal record at large

There’s confusion over just how long a convicted violent offender has been at large,

Thursday morning CTV News received a media release from Halifax Regional Police, asking for the public’s assistance in locating 26-year-old, Jerome Morton, a violent offender.

“He was in a halfway house,” said Constable Tracy MacDonald Thursday morning. “He walked away from that halfway house on Tuesday evening.”

Thursday afternoon, CTV spoke with Constable MacDonald again, just after learning that Morton went missing from the halfway house on August 1^st, not August 20^th.

“Looking further into the file,” explains MacDonald. “It appears Jerome Morton has been missing for approximately 21 days now.”

In November 2005, Morton was convicted of a violent home invasion in Beaver Brook, Nova Scotia.

Morton was one of two men who placed a shotgun to another man’s head and pulled the trigger.

The gun was not loaded.

Morton was sentenced to six years and one month in prison.

Constable MacDonald admits he accidentally wrote the wrong date on the original release, but more unsettling for some is how long Morton has been missing, without police informing the public.

“Well I think it’s a little late,” exclaims Halifax resident Katherine Courell.

According to police, they haven’t informed the public until now because Morton did not pose a risk to the public.

“At this time the investigators felt they had some solid tips and they were following-up on them,” explains MacDonald. “It’s only now that this period of time, the investigators have exhausted all their avenues and we’re seeking the public’s assistance.”

The Parole Board placed special conditions on Morton’s release, requiring him to live in a hallway house until the end of his sentence because, “Your violent victimization of persons with weapons and a careless disregard for their security calls for safe measures to ensureno further activities of a similar occur in the future.”

Halifax residents say the information should have come earlier.

“I definitely think that’s too long,” says Chantalle Briggs.

“Within 24 to 48 hours I would think,” adds Angela Faulkner.

This isn’t the first time Morton has walked away from a halfway house.

Police do not consider him a high risk offender.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Alyse Hand