Posted on 07/28/2004 4:54:55 PM PDT by johnfrink
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.
I live in Omaha about a mile from I-80. Usually the busts are for drug running, but once you cross the river to Council Bluffs speed limit changes and seatbelt law is Enforced. State Troopers in Iowa do not mess around!! Cheers to them!!
Yikes!
Stopped-for-seatbelt-violation ping.
Why not just dispense with the charade and allow stops for any reason to check things out. That way you'll be more likely to catch the careful criminal and prevent them from committing a crime.
Like that Fat LIAR even cares about anyone to has died to give or protect the freedoms we have as Americans. He is DISGUSTING!!
"lily white" isn't necessarily a race thing - it also refers to their criminal background, i.e., having a clean record. Such as the 14 Syrians (you know, the musicians) who didn't have a single recorded interaction with police amongst all 14 of them. If the cops/FBI/JTTF do a background check on someone and it comes up clean, they are inclined to let them go, which is what they did with the 14 Syrians... and only later did the FBI realize all of their visas were expired. (They had copied their documents, but had not bothered to check the dates until after they released them.)
I was under the impression that "lily whites" would be white rather than swarthy or black because the latter two would more likely be profiled as Muslim or Black Muslim.
I stand corrected. :)
Why were you "somewhat sympathetic?"
Bullshiite.
the religion of peace at work...time to hang these people on the spot. What if civilians caught some of these "peaceful" people at work?
I hope you're not overlooking the fact that we are locked in a low-intensity war, but a war nonetheless, against precisely this sort of person. Survival is paramount, and it would be foolish to hobble our security forces by a too-nice concern for theoretical rights which would have NO MEANING WHATSOEVER should the enemy triumph.
Awful to say, but a little fascism now may prevent a whole bunch later. Such is life.
1) The Brady Bunch, and their comrades in Federal law enforcement tend to blow things out of proportion.
2) I've no use whatsoever for seat belt laws and the accompanying check points.
3) Imagine my truck, packed for a day at the range. Rifles, pistols, telescope, camera, etc ... Then imagine the Brady Bunch having collective apoplexy at the sight.
Of course, when I hit the "felon in posession" part, I started reading a bit more carefully.
Well in that case just vote for Kerry and be done with it.
There is no need to go 'round harrasing the average american when we already know dang well what the enemy looks like we just aren't allowing ourselves to do anything about it.
Its time to bring back McCarthy.....
1 Agree
2 Agree
3 Agree
4 Agree
I'll bet I know which one gets the most use.
Hear! Hear! Tail-gunner Joe and J. edgar Hoover could work wonders for us if they were around and in power today.
the fact is, we, like a foolish cancer patient, refused treatment when the therapy would have been mild; the disease has progressed to the point where more radical intervention is required.
Converts are generally the most radical because they think they have something to prove.
Hang him!
Sooooo, all good little muslims carry sniper equipment?
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