Missouri trooper pleads in handcuffed drowning of Iowa man

VERSAILLES, Mo. - A former state trooper pleaded guilty to a reduced charge Tuesday in the 2014 drowning death of Iowa resident Brandon Ellingson, 20, at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Anthony Piercy pleaded guilty to negligent operation of a vessel, a class B misdemeanor, at a motion hearing at the Morgan County Justice Center in Versailles.

Piercy was charged in December 2015 with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Ellingson's 2014 drowning for allegedly recklessly causing Ellingson's death by handcuffing him behind his back while intoxicated and not properly securing his flotation device, which subsequently caused his death when he fell into the water.

Judge Roger Martin Prokes set a sentencing hearing for 3 p.m. Sept. 8. The range of punishment is imprisonment for no more than six months or a fine up to $500, or both.

In fall 2014, Morgan County ruled Ellingson's death accidental after a coroner's inquest and recommended no charges be filed. Special prosecutor Amanda Grellner decided later to take another look into the case. However, the Osage County prosecutor later recused herself and Special Prosecutor William Seay was appointed to take over, filing the charges against Piercy in late 2015.

Piercy had been scheduled for jury trial on the involuntary manslaughter charge July 10. Prokes, presiding circuit judge for the 4th Circuit Court, was assigned to Piercy's case in November 2016 after Judge Stan Moore recused himself and the case was sent to the Missouri Supreme Court for assignment. Moore was the third judge to recuse himself in Piercy's case.

In November, the state of Missouri agreed to pay $9 million to settle a civil lawsuit Ellington's family filed in federal court.

Although the original lawsuit named Piercy, the Missouri Highway Patrol and several others as defendants, only Piercy remained as a defendant when the lawsuit was settled.

Ellingson's parents plan to speak at the September sentencing, although Piercy's attorneys have asked he be allowed to withdraw his plea if he could face more than probation, the Associated Press reported.

An investigation into Ellingston's death by the Kansas City Star discovered some troopers weren't adequately trained to work on the water after the Missouri Water Patrol merged with the Highway Patrol in 2011, according to the Associated Press. Piercy had received two days of field training before he was cleared to patrol the water, while Water Patrol recruits previously had received at least two months of training.

The Associated Press provided some information for this story.