GRAND RAPIDS — The Michigan State Police bomb squad found and detonated 10 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at the home of a former Michigan corrections officer during a Feb. 20 raid, a federal prosecutor told a judge on Wednesday, May 27.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Olivia Ghiselli also shed new light on what finally prompted the Ionia County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the MSP bomb squad, to search the home of Casey Wagner, after years of complaints from neighbors about large explosions, gunfire, and even a small bomb carried by a balloon emanating from his property.
Four days before the raid, a neighbor told police of a “flash and an explosion” outside Wagner’s home that appeared to be timed for detonation while he was not there, Ghiselli told U.S. Magistrate Judge Ray Kent at a detention hearing in federal court in Grand Rapids.
The unidentified neighbor saw Wagner leave his home on his motorcycle, drive down the road a ways, sit and wait and watch his property until the explosion happened, and then drive away, Ghiselli said in court. That report was very concerning to local law enforcement and prompted the sheriff’s office to ask a judge for a search warrant, she said.
There, in addition to the IEDs, police found close to 200 firearms, including at least one machine gun, short-barreled shotguns and rifles, a small cannon that could fire golf-ball-sized projectiles, and six grams of methamphetamine, Ghiselli said, adding that Wagner, 34, told police he was a daily meth user who had used the illegal drug for about five years.
Police also found a large number of items Wagner had taken from his workplace, Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, without permission, Ghiselli said. That included two riot helmets and a riot shield, 15 pairs of handcuffs, three sets of belly chains, a gas mask, gas mask filters, and Taser cartridges, she said. Wagner resigned from his job as prison arsenal sergeant soon after the raid.
Ionia County Prosecutor Kyle Butler asked an Ionia judge to dismiss state drug, embezzlement and weapons charges against Wagner when a grand jury handed down a federal indictment against Wagner May 21. Wagner has been in federal custody since then.
Ionia County Prosecutor Kyle Butler asked an Ionia judge to dismiss state drugs, embezzlement and weapons charges against Wagner when a grand jury handed down a federal indictment against Wagner May 21.
Ghiselli asked Kent at the May 27 hearing to keep Wagner locked up as a danger to the community to await trial on federal charges of possessing a machine gun, possessing illegal short-barreled weapons, and two counts of illegally possessing Glock pistols in his vehicle and his home while a user of illegal drugs. The first two charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The last two carry a maximum prison sentence of up to 15 years.
Michael Taylor, Wagner’s Flint attorney, asked Kent to allow Wagner to return to his Ionia Township home, saying that Wagner, who has no criminal record, had been free on bond on the state charges since February, has repeatedly tested drug-free, and has no bond violations. “He has a track record on bond already,” Taylor told the judge.
Kent chose a middle ground, accepting the recommendation of pretrial services and sending Wagner to a Grand Rapids halfway house.
Though Wagner has no history of violence, Kent said it didn’t feel safe to send him back to his large Ionia Township property, which features a shooting range and clutter that includes abandoned vehicles. Kent said he believes Wagner suffers from “a little paranoia … undoubtedly fueled by meth.” Though police had cleared all firearms from Wagner’s home, Kent speculated that Wagner might have other guns hidden somewhere on his property, or possibly even boobytraps.
“I can’t supervise you in that setting,” Kent told Wagner. “I can’t send my officers there, knowing I might be putting them in harm’s way.”
Taylor said Wagner had spent time at his mother’s place in Grand Ledge while on bond on the state charges, but that would be a problem for complying with his federal bond, since a family business is a federally licensed gun dealership and there are large numbers of guns at the home and customers coming and going with guns.
But in the hopes of getting Wagner released from the halfway house, where his children, who live with their mother, would not be able to visit him, Taylor said he will try to find a gun-free home where Wagner can live that can receive the approval of pretial services and the judge.
Lois LaRoe, Wagner’s closest neighbor, who said she has suffered damage to her home, loss of hearing, and PTSD from years of explosions, told the Detroit Free Press May 27 that she hoped the judge would order Wagner held in custody to await trail. She said she’s upset and worried that he was released on bond to a halfway house.
“I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything different from the feds as the county,” LaRoe said. “Neither one has helped me out in any way.”
Among the terms of Wagner’s release is that he have no contact with any of his former neighbors.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge sends former Ionia prison officer to halfway house pending trial
Reporting by Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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