Missouri Trooper Anthony Piercy pleaded not guilty Thursday to the charge of involuntary manslaughter in the drowning death of Brandon Ellingson.
Piercy appeared at the Morgan County Justice Center with his attorney, Shane Farrow, where he waived his right to the formal reading of charges and pleaded not guilty.
Ultimately, the case is expected to go to trial; however, Special Prosecutor William Seay said he doesn't think that will be the next step.
Seay - who would speak only regarding procedure, not on the direct facts of the case per Missouri Supreme Court rules - said Piercy has 30 days to file for a change of judge or change of venue. After that, "the next thing that will transpire is setting a date for a hearing pending motions," Seay said.
Those motions are if the defendant decides to make a change in the judge or venue, something the state has no discretion over.
"It is entirely up to the defendant," Seay said, confirming no indication has been made yet as to whether this will happen in Piercy's case.
After the next hearing is set, Seay said, it is hard to tell how quickly a jury trial date will be set.
"The defense has a lot of work to do at this point. ... The prosecution has endorsed well over 100 witnesses," he said.
This first step is to wait and see if any motions need to be addressed.
"That will cause things to move slower," Seay said. "There are still several steps before the trial date."
Piercy, 44, was charged in December with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Ellingson's May 31, 2014, drowning at the Lake of the Ozarks. Allegedly, Piercy recklessly caused 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. Piercy is currently free on bond.