Armed Felon Arrested After Shooting Federal Officer During Execution of Search Warrant and Sixteen-Hour Armed Standoff

News release from U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Hawaii, Thursday, October 23, 2025

HONOLULU – Acting United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Robert Morris, 49, of Honolulu, Hawaii, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint yesterday with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on October 22, 2025, federal agents arrested Morris at his residence in Honolulu, Hawaii. The arrest followed a 16-hour armed standoff that began the morning of October 21 after federal law enforcement attempted to execute a federal search warrant at Morris’s residence. Before federal law enforcement could enter the residence, Morris fired several shots from inside the residence, striking and injuring a DEA Task Force Officer. Federal law enforcement fired shots into the residence during the exchange. Following the gunfire, Morris refused to exit the residence and engaged in a standoff with law enforcement, while broadcasting a Facebook Live stream from inside the residence. After approximately sixteen hours, Morris surrendered to law enforcement and was taken into custody. Law enforcement located a .40 caliber firearm inside the residence, which Morris subsequently admitted he used during the shootout. 

If convicted of the charged offenses, Morris faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for assaulting a federal officer, 15 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, as well as a mandatory minimum of 25 years, and a maximum of life, for using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence to run consecutive to any other sentence, along with potential fines. 

The charges in the criminal complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. In the case of conviction, any sentence would be imposed by a United States District Judge based on the statutory sentencing factors and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Honolulu Police Department, and Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Albanese. 

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the  perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).