Schlitterbahn’s Jeff Henry wants to avoid prison in Johnson County drug, sex case
Lawyers for Jeff Henry, who for years came up with big ideas for rides and attractions in the Schlitterbahn chain of water parks, are attempting to negotiate a plea deal that would let him avoid serving prison time due to health issues.
A plea hearing was set for Wednesday in Johnson County District Court in Henry’s criminal case for charges of drug possession and buying sex. Prosecutors charged Henry in 2018 when Merriam police responded to a disturbance at a Drury Inn hotel where they located drugs, drug paraphernalia and a woman in the room with Henry who told police she was prostituted by another man.
Henry is best known in Kansas City for designing the Verruckt water slide in Wyandotte County at the now-closed Schlitterbahn park. Verruckt set records for the 17-story height of the thrill ride when it opened in 2014, but it became a monument to tragedy until it was torn down after a 10-year-old boy died on the ride in 2016.
Henry’s lawyer, Carl Cornwell, said Henry was not ready to go through with the plea hearing as negotiations continue with the prosecution over what punishment to recommend to the judge.
Henry said the coronavirus pandemic is central to Henry’s case, as the 65-year-old has various medical issues, including diabetes.
“I’m just trying to figure out a way...to make sure my client doesn’t go to the penitentiary,” Cornwell told Johnson County District Court Chief Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan during a hearing held by videoconference.
Assistant district attorney Will Hurst said a plea offer was extended to Henry, which Hurst described as an “open to argue” deal.
“Defense could argue for probation, the state could argue for prison,” Hurst said.
Ryan agreed to hold another hearing in October.
Henry’s legal troubles in Johnson County started when he was in town in July 2018 dealing with second-degree murder and other criminal charges in Wyandotte County related to Caleb Schwab’s death on the Verruckt water slide.
Henry, who lives in Texas, was staying at the Drury Inn on Shawnee Mission Parkway in Merriam during the court proceedings in Wyandotte County.
According to court records, Merriam police were called to the hotel because a man was trying to kick down the door of a hotel room occupied by Henry and two women.
When police arrived, they said they saw Henry attempting to empty several bottles with clear liquid into the bathroom sink.
Another woman in the room told police she was there as part of a prostitution deal with Henry, arranged by the man who was trying to kick down the hotel room door.
After Henry and the women left, police searched the room and found hypodermic needles, a bottle of prescription drugs and baggies of methamphetamine. When police later interviewed one of the women in the room, she said that she and Henry injected methamphetamine into each other’s necks.
Henry in 2019 pleaded not guilty to the charges during a preliminary hearing. His attorneys have argued that the judge should disregard any statements made by Henry to police and any drug evidence recovered at the hotel room because Merriam police unlawfully detained him at his hotel room and did not advise him of his rights.
Henry’s charges in Johnson County are the only remaining legal issues he faces in the Kansas City area.
Schlitterbahn faced civil claims by the family of Caleb Schwab, who died in 2016 when he was riding Verruckt, a towering water slide that took raft-bound riders down a steep 17-story drop before climbing a second, 50-foot hump and coming to rest in a pool of water.
Caleb Schwab, son of Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, died when his raft went airborne and collided with a netting system meant to keep riders from flying off.
Several parties involved in the development of Verruckt settled with the Schwab family for nearly $20 million.
Henry and others were then indicted by a Wyandotte County grand jury on criminal counts, including second-degree murder for Henry, stemming from accusations that Verruckt was carelessly designed without regard to rider safety and that they attempted a cover-up after Caleb Schwab died.
Those charges were dismissed by a Wyandotte County District Court judge who ruled that the Kansas Attorney General’s office, which handled the prosecution of Henry, showed the grand jury improper and prejudicial evidence.
Schlitterbahn closed its Kansas City location in 2019 and the company sold some of its Texas water parks to Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. An affiliate of Schlitterbahn still owns several acres of land in western Wyandotte County near the Village West shopping district.
