ELSBERRY – A Lincoln County judged sentenced a man to 20-years in prison who claimed he unintentionally shot an Elsberry teenager at a party nearly three years ago.

In a plea bargain with the Lincoln County prosecutor’s office, Christopher Allen Smith, 21, pleaded guilty to three felonies, including unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and second degree assault.

Circuit Judge James Beck sentenced Smith to 20 years for the unlawful use of a weapon charge, 13 years for armed criminal action and seven for assault. All three sentences though will run concurrently.

As part of the plea bargain, the state dropped five other felonies, including two counts each of unlawful use of a weapon and assault and one count of armed criminal action.

Police arrested Smith at a St. Peters residence July 20, 2022 after a shooting earlier in the day in Elsberry.

At 1:37 a.m., sheriff’s deputies arrived at a home on Goodwood Drive following a 911 call reporting a shooting.

Deputies found a 17-year-old male lying on the floor of the Elsberry home, the victim of a gunshot wound to the neck/head region.

The victim later told police he had no idea who shot him.

“(The victim) recalled standing around at the party when he felt a sharp pain in his neck and he fell to the ground,” according to a probable cause statement. “(He) said he passed out and woke up to a bunch of people telling him he’d been shot and not to move.”

The victim was taken to a hospital where he was treated and eventually released.

Other witnesses at the party identified Smith as the shooter and described the vehicle he drove away in.

St. Peters police located the vehicle at a residence and arrested Smith without incident. Investigators found three weapons, two handguns and a modified shotgun, in Smith’s bedroom.

After his arrest that day, Smith admitted to his role in the shooting.

He told Lincoln County deputies he went to the party and knew of a couple males attending who “he was having problems with” and that some people had guns.

“Christopher said people started getting excited and he thought trouble was about to happen so he pulled his gun out and started to run out of the house,” the officer stated in the probable cause statement. “Christopher admitted to shooting his gun more than once, but could not recall how many shots he fired.”