Judge delays sentencing hearing in Ellingson drowning case
The father of a man who drowned while in Highway Patrol custody at the Lake of the Ozarks will now be able to appear at a sentencing hearing in the case.
Brandon Ellingson was handcuffed when he fell off a patrol boat and drowned in 2014.
Trooper Anthony Piercy pleaded guilty in June to negligent operation of a vessel for his role in Ellingson’s death.
On Monday, Judge Roger Prokes moved the sentencing date for Piercy from Sept. 8 to Sept. 19.
The delay was requested last week so that Ellingson’s dad, Craig Ellingson, would be present.
Ellingson said he would not have been able to attend the hearing on the other date, which had been moved from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., because he would not have had enough time to fly back to Iowa for a football game dedicated to his son.
