Journal reviews body cam footage regarding sheriff’s department response to party on Hwy. C with 200-300 minors, one of which caused a fatal accident that killed four people, prompting lawsuit

Editor’s note: The following story recounts events as captured in body camera footage obtained by the Lincoln County Journal through a Missouri Sunshine Law request. Dialogue is quoted verbatim; timestamps correspond to the department’s footage.

By Gregory Orear
General Manager/Editor

LINCOLN COUNTY – What began as a routine peace disturbance call in Lincoln County ended in tragedy barely 30 minutes later.

On April 29, 2023, three Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a loud party involving minors at a home on Highway C, about a mile west of Old Monroe. When the deputies arrived, they found a crowd of roughly 200-300 people. Within minutes, they noted the smell of alcohol and marijuana, according to body camera footage obtained by the Lincoln County Journal.

After an initial confrontation, footage shows deputies interacting casually with the teenage host – complimenting the snacks and making small talk – before assisting with directing traffic as partygoers leave. No citations were issued, and no sobriety checks were conducted, according to the footage. 

About 10 minutes after the first cars departed, a crash occurred roughly a mile away on Highway 79 involving one of the partygoers. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Ashley Harris, 16, drove her southbound Chevrolet Impala across the centerline in a no-passing zone and collided head-on with a northbound Hyundai Elentra, driven by Racheal “Grace” Neldon, 23. 

Neldon, who was driving to her Elsberry home died at the scene, as did Harris and two passengers in the Impala, one of whom was pregnant, as it became engulfed in flames. Another passenger, Zachary Shields, 18, was pulled out of the car and survived.

Neldon’s parents, Jennifer and Thomas, have since filed a civil lawsuit alleging negligence by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and four deputies, including the three who responded to the party – Aaron Ryan, Joseph Kenney and Jacob Williams – and Capt. Eric Redman, who was not on scene but was the shift supervisor at the time of the incident. The lawsuit also lists the homeowners as defendants.

Attorneys for the sheriff’s department and the homeowners where the party occurred, who are also named as defendants in the lawsuit, have filed motions to dismiss. Circuit Judge James Beck will hear arguments regarding that dismissal Oct. 16.

The sheriff’s department released more than 100 minutes of body cam footage related to the party and accident, which has been reviewed by the Journal. Portions referenced below include timestamps that correspond to the footage.

An Early Confrontation

According to the bodycam footage, deputies arrived on scene at 11:13 p.m.

They quickly located the party’s host, a juvenile living at the home owned by Andrew and Amelia Titone, as well as Brian Buie.

It didn’t take long for the deputies and the teenager to clash.

(11:14 p.m.) “Where’s your parents at,” Deputy Ryan asked.

“They’re not here,” the juvenile responded. 

“So all this weed that I smell and the drinking is …how old are you?”

“I’m 16,” the teen responded. “Can you walk up on my property?”

“Yes, I can walk up on your property because we got a complaint …call your parents,” Ryan stated.

As the host retreated inside the home, Ryan was prevented from following by another partygoer he later labeled as “the bodyguard” who stood in the doorway, refusing to leave, as they engaged in a heated discussion.

In this audio clip, Deputy Ryan argues with a friend of the party’s host, who is blocking a door to the house.

The party’s host then stated his parents were on their way, to which Ryan claimed minors drinking or smoking marijuana would be detained.

(11:16 p.m.) “When they get here, I’m (identifying) everybody, and whoever’s underage, and if they’ve been drinking or smoking weed, they will be coming with me,” he said.

However, the parents never arrived with law enforcement on scene and when “the bodyguard” refused to comply with Ryan’s request for him to move, he was placed in handcuffs.

In this clip, Ryan detains a juvenile who was not complying with his orders.

Defusing the Situation

With the “bodyguard” handcuffed, Ryan attempted to explain what they were doing at the party.

Deputy Ryan attempts to de-escalate the situation by explaining their reason for responding.

As everyone started to calm down, Ryan seemingly tried relating through his own experience, while also showing some admiration for the party.

(11:22 p.m.) “Trust me, I’ve been at many of these and I’ve been your age. And I’ve probably done 10 times worse than you, maybe” Ryan explained. “We understand this is a party. We understand you guys are having a good time. There’s snacks. Nobody has a party with snacks. You guys did. I’m impressed.”

With emotions leveled, Ryan removed the handcuffs.

A few minutes later, Ryan was joking with the host about his prom attire while looking at pictures.

Deputy Ryan questions the party’s host taste in shoes.

The footage later shows Ryan making light-hearted comments about available snacks and food at the party.

(11:32 p.m.) “Man, I want some of them chips though,” Ryan said. “They got snickers, too. They got cheese? Dude, they got cheese.”

A Plan is Formed

With everyone calm, Ryan stated the obvious problem.

(11:24 p.m.) “So, you gotta understand, okay, this is a big party, and plus, you’re not old enough to be drinking,” he said. “I know everybody’s drinking and smoking because I can smell it.”

Deputy Williams explained what they wanted to see.

(11:25 p.m.) “Here’s our ultimate endgame right now. Whoever’s going to leave, we want to make sure that they’re responsible and safe,” he said. “So, however that has to get arranged, that’s fine. We do not care. As long as no one who is drunk gets behind the wheel.”

With the parents apparently unavailable, the party’s host called his older brother who spoke to Ryan, calling the party with 200-300 minors and no adults a “recipe for disaster.”

(11:28 p.m.) “Obviously you do your job, I’m not gonna tell you, but everyone I feel like needs to probably go,” the brother told Ryan. “So there’s no adult there…that’s a recipe for disaster and you know that.”

After relaying that message to the party’s host, he produced a text from his stepmother that stated he could have some friends over.

(11:33 p.m.) “Your dad and I are okay with having a few friends at the house after prom tonight,” according to the text. “We just want to make sure you understand that there is no drinking.”

Ryan quickly pointed out the party failed on both of those fronts.

“I guess that bottle of Bacardi that I saw over there was no drinking and a few people,” Ryan asked.

However, both Ryan and Williams seemingly left the decision up to the teenage host, with Ryan stating outright they can’t tell him what to do.

And for a minute, the host considered continuing with the party.

(11:34 p.m.) “I might as well keep it going at this point because I’m going to be down in the dirt for a while,” he said while acknowledging his parents were going to be mad.

Williams replied with a compromise. 

“You decide to make that choice, be keeping it down, but I’d probably recommend not to do that,” he said.  “I’d have your closest friends … over here, then that’s probably alright. All the other hundreds probably need to go.”

The host seemingly agreed and accompanied the deputies outside to disperse the crowd and send the crowd home.

On the Road

The deputies, who had blocked the only driveway to the house when they arrived, went back to their cars and parked them in the highway to prevent drivers from heading west on Highway C.

With deputies waving their flashlights directing traffic, the first motorist left at 11:38, 25 minutes after law enforcement first arrived.

This video clip shows Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies directing traffic onto Highway C. Portions of the video are blacked out by the sheriff’s department to protect the identity of minors.

While directing about 50 cars onto the highway, Williams asked Ryan as to why they didn’t see more alcohol.

(11:42 p.m.) “I think there’s a lot of people, but where is all the alcohol,” Williams asked according to the body cam footage.

“They took it,” Ryan flatly responded.

Moments later, Ryan reminded about the sixth motorist to turn on their lights, who apparently turned on windshield wipers instead.

(11:46 p.m.) “Turn your lights on,” Ryan said. “You don’t need your windshield wipers on. It ain’t raining now. Need to put your seatbelt on, though.”

A few minutes later at 11:48 p.m., the fatal call came over the radio with the first reports of the accident at Highway 79 and C.

Williams and Kenney quickly left and responded to the accident, which was approximately a mile away, leaving Ryan to direct the remaining cars onto the highway.

Three minutes later, another call came across the radio, indicating one of the cars was on fire.

At that moment, Ryan walked back down the driveway to the residence and delivered a near 90-second lecture.

In this audio clip, Deputy Ryan tells a group of minors what happened as a result of the party.

With the message delivered, Ryan left the home and raced to the accident scene.

Lincoln County Sheriff Rick Harrell declined to comment on this story on advice of legal representation, citing the pending lawsuits. However, after publication of this story, the sheriff released a statement to the public, which is accessible by CLICKING HERE.

Part two of this series will examine details related to the crash and the response to it.

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