93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
A former Mizzou fraternity member has pleaded guilty to supplying liquor to former Mizzou student Danny Santulli during a high-profile 2021 incident in Columbia.
22-year-old Thomas Shultz of Chesterfield has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of supplying liquor to a minor or intoxicated person. Boone County prosecutors dropped two felony charges in return for the misdemeanor guilty plea. Those felonies were hazing and tampering with physical evidence. Schultz was taken out of the Boone County Courthouse in handcuffs and then booked into the Boone County jail.
Online court records show Santulli’s family told Boone County Circuit Judge Jeff Harris that they support the plea agreement. Judge Harris has sentenced Shultz to 30 days in the Boone County jail and 100 hours of community service work. Shultz will also be required to complete an in-person alcohol and drug education program.
Santulli’s family members say that he’s blind and unable to walk, after the hazing incident.
Meantime, with less than three weeks to go in Missouri’s legislative session, a bill aimed at keeping something like this from happening again has yet to receive a House hearing. State Rep. Travis Smith (R-Twin Bridges) has filed House Bill 240, which says any person who renders aid to a hazing victim or is the first to call 911 or campus security is immune from prosecution. Representative Smith has told 939 the Eagle that he wants to ensure that a situation like Danny Santulli’s never happens again.
