The move came two days after District Court Judge Alan Blankenship dismissed all criminal charges, ruling that the court did not find a probable reason why the defendants acted “recklessly” or “knowingly” when they pulled out the Table Lake duck boat. Rock when approaching a strong wind.
The case was dropped without prejudice, paving the way for prosecutors to reopen the case by reopening charges of first-degree manslaughter against Scott McKee, the boat’s captain; Curtis Lanham, general manager of Ride the Ducks Branson; and Charles Baltzel, the manager on duty that day.
In his ruling, the judge expressed “great sadness at this unnecessary loss of life and the impact on the victims’ family and friends”, but said that there was insufficient evidence “in support of the mens rea or intent necessary for the charges, as defined by law of Missouri. ”
Attorney General Eric Schmidt, citing his office’s commitment to “fight for justice” for the victims, reiterated charges of manslaughter last Thursday.
Lanham and Baltzell’s lawyers said they were disappointed with the prosecutor’s decision, saying the judge had already ruled on the merits. CNN sought comment from McKee’s lawyer.
The allegations stem from the fatal sinking of a duck boat, an amphibian traveling by land and water, in a lake near Branson, a popular family vacation spot. Of the 31 people on board, 17 died after the boat capsized during a strong thunderstorm and strong winds. McKee, Lanham and Baltzel were initially charged with a 47-count federal indictment. But a federal judge dismissed the allegations in December 2020 due to a problem with jurisdiction and recommended that the case be prosecuted at the state level. In July 2021, the three men were charged with a criminal complaint in state court with a total of 63 charges, including 17 counts of manslaughter.
In a statement on possible cause, prosecutors accused McKee of wrongdoing when he decided to enter the lake during a warning of a severe thunderstorm and non-compliance with policies by not directing passengers to set up personal watercraft.
An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that tour operator Ride the Ducks Branson and its parent company, Ripley Entertainment, were to blame for the incident, as managers did not provide a severe forecast for the ship’s captain’s weather.
The nearly two-year NTSB investigation identified a “systemic problem with the company as a whole,” an investigator said at a board meeting in 2020. The board decided not to specifically name the captain of Stretch Duck 7 in its finding of error.
“You can’t know what you don’t know,” said NTSB President Robert Sumworth, noting that when the ship arrived on the shores of Table Rock Lake on July 19, 2018, “this lake was glass smooth.”
At the time, Ripley Entertainment and Ride the Ducks Branson said in a statement that the companies were “fully cooperating” with the NTSB investigation and remained “committed to working with the Branson community and continuing our support for all those affected by the incident.” that they would review the report and did not address the specific findings.
Blankenship, referring to the investigation, noted in his decision that there was no evidence that McKee, Lanham or Baltzel knew about the coming strong winds.
Lanham’s lawyers, Trisha and Tom Bath, said in a statement that the state “has failed to identify a probable cause”.
“Without new evidence, the state has again raised exactly the same charges that the court has already assessed in depth,” the statement said. “The state obviously hopes to get a different outcome before a different judge. We see no reason to expect a different result. “
Baltzell’s lawyer, Justin Johnston, also noted that the court had assessed the allegations and found them to be “unfounded”.
“Reviewing the same evidence that has already been considered by the court is a waste of time and unnecessarily prolongs the pain for all involved,” Johnston said. “Mr Balzel has not committed a crime, as the court has already established, and he will defend himself vigorously again.”
In a joint statement when the charges were dropped last week, lawyers for the three defendants said they respected the decision and called the sinking a “tragedy for all concerned”.
Correction: In a previous version of this story, the name of lawyer Justin Johnston was misspelled.
CNN’s Eric Levenson contributed to this report.
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