PAPILLION, Neb. (WOWT) – An employee of a company that assists authorities in transporting bodies has appeared in court after would have manipulated such a scene in October 2023.

In court Monday, Ryan Smith, 42, pleaded “no contest” to charges of theft/shoplifting, criminal trespass and impersonating an officer — all misdemeanors.

Smith was previously arrested on a burglary charge before the charge was reduced to a felony. He also faced a charge of tampering with physical evidence.

He will be sentenced on Jan. 27, 2025, according to court documents.

The Sarpy County Prosecutor’s Office told 6 News they found no evidence that other scenes potentially involving Smith had evidence of tampering.

According to court documents, Smith was one of two people who came to pick up the deceased after he died of natural causes at a residence near 144th Street and Giles Road.

Later that day, Smith contacted the property manager saying he had been asked to collect a life-size sex doll that was found at the site so it could be swabbed for “a biopsy.”

The request was denied, but according to an affidavit from a sheriff’s investigator, the manager investigating noises at the residence found him there with the latch locked and the chain secured — his clothes disheveled.

The documents state that Smith left, saying he would return with a warrant for the doll. The manager contacted the police.

Investigators returned to the scene and noticed that items, including a survival kit, had been moved. The Douglas County Crime Lab was called in to process the scene, collecting the fingerprints from the kit in particular. Investigators also planned to request DNA samples from the doll.

Justin Dalton, owner of Mid America First Call, said Smith was off the clock at the time of the alleged incident but had been fired.

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