Fifth Danny Santulli hazing case defendant takes plea deal, avoiding major jail time
A fifth defendant in the felony hazing case which left Phi Gamma Delta pledge Danny Santulli with alcohol poisoning-related brain damage pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Friday, avoiding significant jail time.
Samuel Morrison, who originally was charged with class D felony hazing, pleaded guilty to the unclassified misdemeanor of supplying alcohol to a minor under an agreement with the prosecution. He was sentenced to a one year, suspended sentence, with two days shock jail time. He was taken into custody following sentencing.
Other special conditions of his two years unsupervised probation include 100 hours of community service that he must complete within the next year, complete an in-person drug and alcohol drug education program, complete a victim impact panel program, which his lawyer Jeff Hilbrenner said he already has completed and documentation is filed with the court. He is barred from consuming alcohol or entering bars and must participate in a restorative justice remediation program with Santulli's family if they request it.
This is similar to conditions issued against Harrison Reichman, Thomas Shultz, and Samuel Ghandi, who all pleaded guilty previously to lesser charges in the case. The only significant difference was the shock jail time. Reichmann was sentenced to 15 days, Shultz to 30 and Ghandi to 15.
Alec Wetzler pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor supplying alcohol to a minor and misdemeanor minor in possession of alcohol. He was sentenced to a suspended six month sentence with two years unsupervised probation. He also had two days shock jail time and had to pay a $500 fine. Unlike the other cases, he did not face a hazing charge.
Santulli was 19 on the night of Oct. 19, 2021, where freshman pledges were required to drink vast amounts of alcohol at the now closed fraternity on the University of Missouri campus. Santulli collapsed and become unresponsive. He was driven and left at the MU Hospital where he was resuscitated by staff.
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The alcohol poisoning caused brain damage that left Santulli unable to speak, walk or talk. He now is under constant care by his parents at their home in Minnesota.
Other defendants are expected to have trials as soon as November.
Blake Morsovillo's case, of Springfield, was put on the trial setting docket Monday with a trial date sometime after Nov. 1. Trials for are scheduled Dec. 5 for Ryan Delanty, Dec. 19 for Samuel Lane, Jan. 9 for Benjamin Karl, Jan. 23 for Benjamin Parres and Jan. 30 for John O'Neill.
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Samuel Morrison pleads guilty in Danny Santulli hazing case
