Trooper pleads guilty in drowning at Lake of the Ozarks
Anthony Piercy, the Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper who piloted the boat a 20-year-old in his custody fell off of and drowned, pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in the man’s death.
Piercy admitted to negligent operation of a vessel, a class B misdemeanor, related to the death of Brandon Ellingson in May 2014. Piercy was originally charged with felony involuntary manslaughter.
Piercy had just taken Ellingson, of Clive, Iowa, into custody on suspicion of boating while intoxicated when the 20-year-old fell overboard. The former trooper had put on the wrong type of life vest for Ellingson, who had his hands cuffed behind him, and the flotation device came off when Ellingson hit the water.
Judge Roger Prokes set a sentencing hearing date for September 8 at 3 p.m. in Morgan County.
Prokes said that MOCAM, a private firm out of Camdenton, would put together the sentencing assessment report, since MIssouri’s Office of Probation & Parole does not do them in misdemeanor cases. That report will recommend a sentence based on Piercy’s own history and the facts of the case.
Piercy faces a maximum of six months in jail, along with a mandatory probation sentence. The plea agreement, accoridng to defense attorney Shane Farrow, allows Piercy to withdraw his plea if the report recommends anything tougher than probation.
Craig Ellingson, the victim’s father, said the plea avoids what might be a costly trial. A coroner’s inquest done in 2014 left him doubtful of how impartial people in Morgan County might be in the case.
“It would’ve probably been a hung jury, we’d have to try it again,” Ellingson told ABC 17 News. “And my family’s been through enough for the last three years. It’s time to let Brandon rest in peace.”
Ellingson said he was ambivalent on a specific sentence for Piercy.
“Even though it’s a lesser charge, he’s still admitting guilt,” Ellingson said. “His ultimate judge will be God.”
ABC 17 News has followed the story since it happened, including investigations into the patrol’s handling of the case. Piercy, a new trooper to the water, admitted he did not know which was the correct life jacket to use. He also did not put an SD card into the camera on his patrol boat, meaning no video exists of the moments Ellingson went overboard.
Piercy also tried jumping into the water to save Ellingson, but couldn’t maintain his grip on Ellingson while also trying to inflate his personal flotation device.
The case seemingly came to a close in September 2014, when a Morgan County jury decided not to recommend charges during a coroner’s inquest. The case moved from one special prosecutor to another, and in December 2015, William Seay filed the criminal charge.
Ellingson’s drowning sparked a General Assembly investigation into the merger of the Highway Patrol’s road troopers and the Water Patrol, the specialized unit that handles cases on Missouri’s waters. Piercy was a road trooper in the Lake area moved to the water, raising questions about the training given to troopers on the water.
The Ellingson family also settled a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit against Piercy and the patrol last November.
Seay declined to say what sentence he would recommend at the September hearing. Farrow also declined to comment.
