IONIA — A county prosecutor on May 21 dismissed drugs, weapons and embezzlement charges against former Michigan Department of Corrections sergeant Casey Wagner after a federal grand jury indicted Wagner on weapons charges.
Immediately after Ionia County Prosecutor Kyle Butler moved to dismiss the 25 state charges, Wagner was arrested at the Ionia District Court on federal charges, Wagner’s Flint attorney, Michael Taylor, told the Detroit Free Press.
Wagner is charged federally with: Possession of one short-barreled rifle and one short-barreled shotgun, which is a 10-year felony; possession of a machine gun, which is also a 10-year felony, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm while a user of controlled substances, which is a 15-year felony, for allegedly having a Glock pistol in his vehicle and his home, according to the indictment and a penalty sheet filed by federal prosecutors.
Wagner, who has long been the subject of complaints from his Ionia Township neighbors over loud explosions, gunfire and music blasting from his property, is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Grand Rapids May 21 and held in custody pending a detention hearing, Taylor said.
Wagner, 34, who resigned from his job as an arsenal sergeant at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia after the Ionia County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad, searched his home Feb. 20 and removed 196 weapons.
He was later charged with possession of methamphetamine, embezzlement, and numerous dangerous weapons charges, including possession of short-barreled rifles or shotguns. Wagner was released on bond Feb. 24.
A federal grand jury handed down the indictment May 19 and it was unsealed May 21, records show.
Butler told the Free Press it was necessary to have the state charges dismissed because that “clears the way for the federal government to move forward,” and federal charges “have more teeth.”
The state charges Wagner faced were five-year felonies.
However, there appear to be no federal embezzlement charges or drug possession charges against Wagner. In addition to possession of methamphetamine, the state charges, which were dismissed May 21, had alleged police found items in Wagner’s home that were the property of the Michigan Department of Corrections and that had been removed from Bellamy Creek prison without permission.
“The meth charge is actually folded into some of the federal counts and provides a basis for the (unlawful possession by a drug user) charge,” Butler said in an email. “The goods alleged to have been embezzled have been recovered. Any state penalty on that charge would be completely eclipsed by any federal penalty.”
Taylor said Wagner intends to plead not guilty, just as he did to the state charges. He said he understands federal authorities want to hold Wagner in custody pending trial, but that he will be seeking bond for his client.
Neighbor Greg Sipka set up a GoFundMe account for Wagner’s nearest neighbor, 65-year-old Lois LaRoe, who told the Free Press she has suffered hearing loss, PTSD, and significant damage to her windows and home from years of close-range explosions. The sheriff’s department had been called to Wagner’s home repeatedly over noise complaints but Ionia Township has no zoning law or noise ordinance and police said they couldn’t charge Wagner unless they caught him in the act.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Former Michigan prison sergeant indicted on federal weapons charges
Reporting by Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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