Traffic harrassment - all because he had a pistol! ATF involved!

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DMF

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http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=1638&u_sid=1159618

Published Wednesday
July 28, 2004

Sniper's kit found in search on I-80

BY LYNN SAFRANEK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

DES MOINES - Michael Wagner lied about his name.

He told the trooper who stopped him for not wearing a seat belt that he couldn't find his identification.

Then, Iowa State Patrol Trooper Kenneth Haas found a gun, three bulletproof vests, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a flight simulator and a bag of flight manuals dating to 2001.

Haas testified at a federal court hearing Tuesday that he also found a 5-foot telescope hooked to camera equipment, night-vision goggles and a night-vision rifle scope when searching Wagner's sport utility vehicle on July 14 on Interstate 80 near Council Bluffs.

The materials, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Rothrock, were "all of the equipment necessary for sniper attacks."

Haas said a tape showed that when Wagner was alone with his wife in a cruiser after they were stopped, he spoke of killing the officers at the scene to get away.

Haas and an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives described Tuesday what was found in Wagner's vehicle and their conversations with him.

Wagner, 44, of Santee, Calif., was indicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition and being a felon in possession of body armor. He pleaded not guilty to both charges Tuesday.

Wagner, a Navy veteran, has been in custody since his arrest in Pottawattamie County. At his detention hearing, U.S. District Judge Celeste Bremer decided he should remain in custody while he awaits trial because he is a flight risk and a danger to the community.

In 1988, Wagner was convicted of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14.

His attorney, Angela Campbell, said the items found in Wagner's vehicle weren't illegal for average citizens to own and suggested that Wagner and his wife, Linda Maguire, were targeted because they are Muslim.

Books written in Arabic, including the Koran, along with hundreds of pages printed from the Internet on the Iraq war and terrorism, were found in Wagner's vehicle.

Wagner and his wife, who was at the court hearing, are both Muslim converts.

During the traffic stop, Wagner repeatedly gave a false name, couldn't produce an identification card and showed signs of nervousness, Haas said, so the trooper searched the vehicle.

Haas first discovered a 9 mm pistol and a loaded magazine in the car's back seat - the same area where the trooper let Wagner search for his identification.

At that point, Haas handcuffed Wagner and seated Wagner's wife along with him in the cruiser. Their conversation was caught on tape.

"I told you I should have killed him," Wagner said when his wife entered the trooper's cruiser.

He mentioned getting his gun so he could "kill all three" officers looking through his vehicle, Haas testified. Then, Haas said, Wagner told his wife, "Find a handcuff key, get up here and run them over."


Campbell said the couple was upset because of how long the search had lasted and how their possessions were being treated. Police dogs were allowed to step on Muslim writings and books, she said.

Meanwhile, Haas said he continued to find other items, including ashes from burnt marijuana, a canteen, pills, an outdoor stove and a sleeping bag. The night-vision goggles and rifle scope, he said, were found in a hollowed-out computer.

Campbell said the equipment was tucked away because it can be ruined by sunlight. She also suggested that the flight simulator was a video game.

Special Agent Paul White said Wagner was cooperative during several hours of questioning.

"He was very vocal and very talkative about his religion," White said.

Later, Wagner asked to speak to a federal agent because he said he had information that authorities "would be greatly in need of," White said.

He agreed to provide information only if he and his wife were released from custody. His wife eventually was released.

In the interview, he talked about a man in San Diego who he said wanted him to shoot at trolleys there, White said. Wagner also told the agent "he knew of activities and people involved in al-Qaida and Taliban."

When Maguire spoke to authorities, according to court documents, she told officials she bought the gun about two years ago for safety reasons, and Campbell said the gun is registered in her name.
 
No less PC than the way the thread originator is attempting to stir something up by the way he titled this thread...
 
I would guess so, since driving without a DL would be an offense. If the Trooper knew that he was being given a false name, then that would be an offense too. To me, and from what I read, I'd say it's a clean stop. I could be wrong, but that's how it looks to me. I don't see how it could be harassment. If a person were acting nervous, and the person didn't have ID, I don't think I'd let 'em drive off either. Since to keep the person from leaving, you’d have to arrest them for the no DL, which case you could search incident to arrest.

Andrew
 
FNHP35

Thanks. I had a feeling it was correct, but i wanted to confirm it.

Regardless of the additional inflamatory information (koran, claims that the bad guy said he was going to kill the cop, etc), it sounds legit.
 
Yeah, this is nuts. I'm as quick to call a LEO on rights violations or over-reacting to a gun as anyone, but this story is clearly neither. Heck, unless this character told the deputy he claimed to be Muslim, how the heck would that be why he was "singled out"? Sounds to me like he's a Johnny Walker Lindh.
 
Sounds like a good stop to me.

attention pedophile felons-carry ID!

In 1988, Wagner was convicted of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14.

Wagner was 28 years old and diddling with some kid some where-he should still be in jail anyway.
 
Sounds to me like the police did an excellent job in preventing a terrorist attack.

No DL? I think a judge would agree that that is Probable Cause.

Kudos to the Iowa Troopers involved. Excellent job!

editted to add: The title of this thread should be, "Iowa State Troopers Thwart Possible Terrorist Attack".
 
We all know why DMF chose the title, right folks? ;)

So, to play along ...


Hold on here! We all know that the media can't be trusted to get the facts right! We should wait for more information.
 
If I were a Muslim terrorist, one of the first things I would say when captured is, "I have information about AQ. Let's talk."

Only makes sense.
 
Okay Steve in PA, Josey, and all the other LEO's on the board:

I agree that this is a legit stop and the LEO's did good.

If the person had produced a DL or given a real name and all was cool with the people themselves then the car was searched then I would be the first one screaming BS!

Wayne
 
No less PC than the way the thread originator is attempting to stir something up by the way he titled this thread...
It looks like DMF is attempting the same technique as "TheBadOne" in labeling an otherwise routine post into something that it is not.

Apparently he was afraid not enough people would bother reading it so he had to juice it in a fraudulant way.

Rick
 
No, the thread starter is making fun of the thread-titling method used by some other members of this board. ;)

Mike

PS 'ATF involved.' Haw!
 
Good stop except for one thing.

It still torques me that they can stop someone for nothing other than a seat belt violation.

Not in Missouri, though...not yet.

I honestly took the Thread title as Sarcasm (after reading the thread). But maybe not.

EDIT: Coronach beat me to it. DOH :eek:
 
It's amazing how many big problems are stopped by simple little checks by LEO's. No seat belt, expired tags, broken tail light. I think that's great stuff. The odds are stacked against the LEO's and the rest of us trying to live normal lives. The bad guys get to hit first most of the time. I'd like to hear more stories like this, but it's easier for the news to lead with some car thief getting thumped.

I've never had anything in my car or on my person to get busted over so a simple stop usually gets me a warning and have a good day.

As an adult, I've never had a bad LEO experience. Some where frustrating, but work is frustrating too and I still show up there on a regular basis. As a teenager, I caused my own LEO problems...:rolleyes:
 
Haas first discovered a 9 mm pistol and a loaded magazine in the car's back seat - the same area where the trooper let Wagner search for his identification.
Anyone else get cold chills on what might have happened here? :what:

- 0 -
 
Michelle Malkin's blog has an update on this story.

http:www.michellemalkin.com


ANOTHER MUSLIM SNIPER?
By Michelle Malkin · July 28, 2004 05:05 PM
"Michael Wagner" is a black Muslim convert who was pulled over by an Iowa State Trooper for not wearing a seatbelt. No doubt the professional grievance-mongers are rushing to provide their pro bono services to an innocent man wrongfully profiled by racist cops. Never mind what was in his car:

A 9mm pistol
Three bulletproof vests

Hundreds of rounds of ammunition

A flight simulator and a bag of flight manuals dating to 2001

A 5-foot telescope hooked to camera equipment

Night-vision goggles and a night-vision rifle scope found in a hollowed-out computer

Books written in Arabic, including the Koran, along with hundreds of pages printed from the Internet on the Iraq war and terrorism


Just as Customs agent Diana Dean pulled over Ahmed Ressam for acting nervously and conducted a vehicle search that saved untold lives by averting the Los Angeles millenium bomb plot, Iowa State Trooper Kenneth Haas decided to search Wagner's vehicle during a routine traffic stop because Wagner repeatedly gave a false name, couldn't produce an identification card, and showed signs of nervousness.

Wagner reportedly told a federal agent about "a man in San Diego who he said wanted him to shoot at trolleys there...Wagner also told the agent "he knew of activities and people involved in al-Qaida and Taliban."

Better keep an eye on this story.
 
Trolling is not allowed at THR. You agreed not to troll when you signed up.

Posting articles with goofy anti-police titles to troll people who don't like police for some reason has, in the past, resulted in at least one permanent ban from The High Road.

I offer that comment for the enlightenment and edification of everyone involved in this latest silly cops vs. the world feud.
 
Obviously a good stop.

It is a bit weird though. I mean the guy is a felon child molestor with guns in the car, multiple bullet-proof vests, night-vision rifle scopes, guns and ammunition, he's muslim, has flight simulator software and flight operator manuals, threatened to kill the cops repeatedly and there was evidence of drug use.

I'm surprised that he wasn't also driving while intoxicated with a dead body in the trunk and a suitcase full of uranium while shouting anti-gay epithets out the window and littering.
 
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