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State agent ordered to stand trial in shooting of man during arrest on Madison's East Side [1]
['Ed Treleven', 'Wisconsin State Journal', "Dane County Sheriff'S Office", 'Emily Hamer', 'Lucas Robinson', 'Ruth Hauge', 'Jeff Richgels', 'Chris Rickert', 'Allison Garfield', 'The Capital Times']
Date: 2023-01
The felony case against a state Division of Criminal Investigation agent accused of recklessly firing into the car of an unarmed man during a traffic stop in February took a step forward Thursday when a judge said there was enough evidence to order a trial after hearing testimony at a preliminary hearing.
Dane County Circuit Judge Chris Taylor also rejected motions by lawyers for Mark Wagner, 49, to remove the Dane County District Attorney’s Office from the case and to dismiss the case because a charging document failed to provide facts alleging Wagner had committed a crime.
Wagner, of Milwaukee, is charged with second-degree reckless endangerment for shots fired on Feb. 3 during a traffic stop of Quadren L. Wilson, 38. Wagner will enter a formal plea to the charge on Jan. 24 before Circuit Judge Julie Genovese, who is the assigned trial judge.
Wilson, whose vehicle was sandwiched between two DCI vehicles at a traffic light on American Parkway on Madison’s Far East Side, was struck by bullet fragments, one of which required surgery to remove, according to testimony during the hearing. Neither of the two shots fired by Wagner struck Wilson. Another agent, Nathan Peskie, fired five shots from a rifle during the incident, according to testimony. No charges have been filed against Peskie.
At the end of the 2½-hour hearing in a courtroom packed with Wagner supporters — including DCI colleagues, some of whom wore “Stand with Wags” T-shirts or sweatshirts — Taylor said she was bound by state law to rule in favor of prosecutors when they’ve made a plausible showing that a crime was committed.
Wagner’s attorneys, Mark Steinle and David Sanders, both of Milwaukee, had raised “competing inferences” about the testimony Taylor heard from three Dane County Sheriff’s Office detectives who investigated the shooting, Taylor said.
“The point of this hearing is not for me to weigh competing inferences that could be drawn from the facts and the testimony that was presented here,” Taylor said.
There is evidence, Taylor said, that Wagner fired two rounds from his state-issued 9mm handgun into a vehicle occupied by Wilson, who was unarmed, at close range.
“The inference that could be drawn is, of course this could endanger the safety of another human being,” Taylor said. “Of course, this could be considered criminally reckless conduct as the facts reveal this was not a person who had any weapon or was armed.”
The other inference, posited by Steinle, was that the use of force was reasonable given all of the circumstances. Steinle said Wagner believed a gunshot had been fired from inside the car, which allows Wagner as a police officer to use deadly force.
“But that is an issue for the fact-finder at trial,” Taylor said. “That is not my role here today. I’m not to weigh those competing inferences.”
The benefit of any doubt about the evidence at a preliminary hearing is to be given to prosecutors, she said. Even the credibility of witnesses is not to be considered as long as their testimony is plausible, she said.
Agents were trying to arrest Wilson, who was on probation, on a warrant issued by the state Department of Corrections, and he also was sought as part of a drug investigation.
Steinle argued that Peskie told investigators he fired his rifle when he saw an object in Wilson’s hand that he believed to be a gun, and that Wagner firing first did not prompt Peskie’s shots.
Witness testimony
Wagner told Detective Cheryl Patty, she testified, that as he approached Wilson’s vehicle behind a ballistics shield, Wilson continued to rev the SUV’s engine to try to get it out of a trap between two DCI vehicles. Wagner told Patty, she said, that Wagner could see Wilson “fidgeting” with his right hand inside the SUV.
Moments later, Wagner told Patty, he believed he heard a shot and felt an impact on the shield. That’s when he fired his gun once.
However, Detective William Hendrickson testified, two fired casings from Wagner’s gun were found at the scene.
Steinle said that based on Wilson’s movements, even though Wagner didn’t see a gun, he was justified in firing at Wilson, which he said police are allowed to do.
Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne countered that the evidence from the scene showed that the only gunshots that were fired during the incident came from the agents’ guns.
“What we are stuck with is a statement that cannot be true,” Ozanne said, referring to Wagner’s statement to Patty that he fired his gun only once. “We know that not to be true.”
Firing at someone at close range, Ozanne said, presents a risk of death or great bodily harm, in this case to Wilson. Deadly force, he said, is only to be used by police as a last resort.
Wilson was charged on Feb. 18 with delivery of fentanyl for a drug delivery in April 2021 that prosecutors said was related to the overdose death of a man inside the bathroom of a McDonald’s restaurant. Wilson pleaded guilty to that charge in May, along with a misdemeanor cocaine possession charge. He was sentenced to three years in prison as part of a plea agreement.
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[1] Url:
https://madison.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/state-agent-ordered-to-stand-trial-in-shooting-of-man-during-arrest-on-madisons-east/article_054a733b-c0b5-54d2-8e0c-748b0a3d5469.html
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