NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – Court documents obtained by 10 On Your Side investigators detail the arrest of Gary Morton, accused of killing 40-year-old Marie Darshaun Covington. This case spans several Hampton Roads cities.
Norfolk detectives charged Morton, 43, with second-degree murder and use of firearm.
Morton was taken into custody during a traffic stop that began in Chesapeake Saturday and is currently in the Chesapeake City Jail without bond. WAVY News 10 obtained a copy of the criminal complaint.
It states that around 3:15 a.m. on August 20, a state trooper attempted to pull over a 2016 White Ford SUV, but the driver refused to stop and proceeded to enter I-64 West in Chesapeake. The vehicle reportedly topped 115 mph at times, before exiting the interstate at Chesapeake Boulevard in Norfolk. The driver pulled into a junkyard, then ran from the scene. The trooper spotted the driver, identified as Gary Morton, minutes later and took him into custody.
A cell phone belonging to Morton was located in the driver’s seat of the SUV, along with two concealed semi-automatic pistols, and an open container of alcohol, court documents show.
A spokesperson for Wawa confirmed with 10 On Your Side that Marie had been employed and was “a valued member” of the store team at the Holland Road location in Virginia Beach for more than six years.
When police looked up the vehicle information, they noticed it belonged to Covington, who was reported missing and last seen with Morton.
A missing person alert released by Virginia Beach Police before Covington’s body was found said she was last seen in her 2016 White Ford SUV.
Morton was arraigned Monday morning in Chesapeake on the following charges: possession of a firearm by a convicted violent felon, disregard for law enforcement command/continue to drive-endanger, DWI 1st offense, reckless driving (115/60), and driving without a license. He is due back in court in Chesapeake for a preliminary hearing on October 13.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning in Norfolk for the charges he’s facing in that city. He’s facing second degree murder and use of a firearm charges.
He also faces an abduction by force without justification charge in Virginia Beach.
Police have not released the motive or any other details surrounding the case.
Court records show Morton has charges pending in Norfolk Circuit Court for strangulation, abduction by force/intimidation assault and battery, and damage of property. A grand jury indicted him on these charges in December 2021 and he is due in court November 7.