Man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in electrocution death gets probation

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man who pleaded guilty in December to manslaughter was sentenced to probation.

Justin Scott Trader pleaded guilty on Dec. 9 to second-degree involuntary manslaughter and first-degree tampering with a vehicle. He was originally charged with second-degree murder, vehicle tampering and first-degree property damage.

He was sentenced to five years of probation, according to an email from Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson. If probation is violated, Trader faces four years for the manslaughter charge and seven years for the tampering charge.

Trader was charged in relation to a Sept. 11, 2022, crash and electrocution near Hartsburg. Andrew Moss intentionally crashed a Jeep into a utility pole, according to court documents in previous reporting.

Moss and another man stole the Jeep and planned to drive it into the Missouri River so its owner couldn't make a court appearance the next day, court documents in previous reporting say. Moss drove into the pole to cause damage before driving the Jeep into the river, but was electrocuted by downed power lines when he stepped out, investigators wrote.

Trader gave Moss and another person the key to the Jeep and helped them plan the theft, court documents claimed.