A former employee at a veterans nursing home in Pueblo has received a two-year deferred sentence for mistreating a Medal of Honor recipient in his care.

Fifty-two-year-old Donald Morton of Las Animas pleaded guilty to misdemeanor neglect of an at-risk adult and was sentenced last week by Pueblo County Judge Ernest Ruybalid.

District Attorney Bill Thiebaut has said the charge against Morton stemmed from the "intimidation and provocation" he directed toward Raymond "Jerry" Murphy, who was honored for his actions during combat in Korea.

Murphy died two years ago at age 77 while living at the Veterans Affairs nursing home in Pueblo, where Morton was employed.

Another employee, 56-year-old Darrel McTaggart of Ordway, was charged with assault on an at-risk adult for allegedly harming another resident of the home. That charge was later dismissed for lack of evidence.

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