EX-DEPUTY SAYS HE WAS WORKING ON A BUST WHEN BUSTED

A former Pasadena City Marshal's deputy testified Friday that he was shocked
when he was arrested in a Houston police sting for allegedly stealing drugs
and money, and he tried to tell officers he was conducting his own
operation.

Keith Wagner, 40, who was fired as a deputy shortly after his arrest, is the
first of four lawmen and two civilians to go on trial as a result of the
sting.

He is charged with manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, theft and
burglary of a habitation for taking what he thought was 50 kilograms of
cocaine and $50,000 from a known drug courier.

The courier, Michael Bohannon, told Wagner he would be transporting the
drugs from Mexico and if the group stopped him in Houston they could take
the drugs, go to a house to collect the money and split the profits.

Wagner testified he planned to double-cross Bohannon by going along with the
plan and then arresting Bohannon and one of the civilians in the group, so
Wagner could score a history-making drug bust for the marshal's office.

He did not know Bohannon was pulling his own double-cross.

Before Bohannon had concocted the plan with Wagner, he had told Houston
police he could name "dirty cops" if they helped him with his legal
troubles. Police believed him and allowed him to set up the plan with
Wagner.

When a team of 40 officers in riot gear arrested Wagner and the others,
Wagner testified Friday, he told them, "Hey guys, what are y'all doing? I'm
working."

"I was shocked when they arrested me," he said.

Wagner said he repeatedly tried to tell the arresting officers he was
working undercover, but he was never given a chance to explain.

"If they had given me 10 more minutes ... I would have had it all wrapped up
in a nice big bowl for them. I had it all under control until I was
arrested.

" ... I've never intended, I've never done a drug rip-off. I did not plan to
split the money. My intent was to make a drug arrest and seizure."

During direct examination by lawyer Dick DeGuerin, Wagner said he never had
the opportunity to file a report about his operation because of his arrest.
And it wasn't until later that he discovered notes on his operation were
missing from his car.

When prosecutor Mia Magness asked why Wagner never mentioned the notes or
the fact he was conducting an investigation in his initial statement to
police, Wagner said, "I was still in shock I had been arrested for doing my
job."

Magness told Wagner he didn't "beat a path" to his chief's office "to snitch
on himself" because he was breaking the law.

When Magness asked if that was typical behavior of corrupt cops, Wagner
responded: "I don't know how a corrupt officer thinks."

Wagner testified he had received proper training for conducting
investigations at the Houston police academy. Wagner was a Houston officer
from 1984 to 1995, when he was fired for gambling.

He testified he knew how to check criminal backgrounds but never gathered
all the information on Bohannon and the other civilian, Jon Eric Gibson,
whom Wagner said he also planned to arrest.

He also said he never told anyone in his department what he was doing, never
performed his own surveillance on Bohannon and allowed Gibson and another
civilian, his brother Michael Wagner, to help in seizing the drugs.

On videotapes made by Houston police, Gibson and Michael Wagner can be seen
carrying weapons when the drugs and money are taken.

When Wagner said he was "shocked," "anxious" and "nervous" as he saw his
brother and Gibson pull out the guns, Magness showed him a tape. On it
Wagner can be seen watching his brother and Gibson holding their guns and
kicking in the door to the house. Wagner then waived off someone who could
not be seen in the video.

Also charged in the sting are Wagner's brothers, Daniel Charles Wagner, a
reserve deputy with the Pasadena City Marshal's office, and civilian Michael
Wagner, a former Galena Park police officer; Pasadena City Marshal's deputy
Troy Douglas South; Houston police officer Frank Ferguson; and civilian
Gibson.

Ferguson and South also were fired after their arrests. Daniel Wagner, who
was a volunteer marshal's deputy, has not been allowed to work there since
his arrest.

Trial dates are pending for all except Gibson, who is scheduled to be
sentenced under a plea agreement.