Santa Ana : Not-Guilty Plea Entered in Highway Shooting

A Santa Ana roofer, Albert Carroll Morgan, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he shot and paralyzed a man as the two drove near the Orange County Fairgrounds on July 18.

Morgan, 32, is charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, firing at an inhabited vehicle and illegal use of a handgun in the shooting that prosecutors say occurred as he jockeyed with Paul Gary Nussbaum in converging traffic in Costa Mesa.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Myron Brown set Feb. 1, 1988, for a jury trial, which attorneys in the case said should last several weeks.

Morgan’s attorney, Paul Meyer, said after Friday’s arraignment that he would try to get the attempted murder charge dropped.

“This is an emotional issue, but my client did not go out intending to shoot someone,” Meyer said. “The facts of this case do not support the attempted-murder charge because my client did not have the mental state--the planning and sophisticated thought processes--for any charge more serious than assault with a deadly weapon or firing at a vehicle.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher Kralick said only that for the prosecution, “Things are going smoothly.”

Nussbaum, 28, of Rolling Hills Estates was paralyzed when a bullet lodged in his spine. He is now a quadriplegic, Kralick said.

Morgan is free on $100,000 bail.