JUDGE DENIES BAIL FOR OFFICER, BROTHER

Cites 'Troubling' Activities, Death Threat

Independence police officer Brian McGarr and his brother, Scott McGarr,
will remain in custody until their case is resolved, a federal judge ruled
Monday.

Judge Robert Larson denied the brothers' request for bond during a hearing
Monday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City. The brothers are charged with
one count of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce.

Federal prosecutors say the McGarrs planned to steal $10,000 of alleged
drug money from undercover FBI agents posing as drug money couriers. The
government asked the judge to deny bail because they believe the McGarrs
could be a danger to witnesses in the case.

"I am detaining both defendants on the issue of dangerousness," Larson
said. "It is very troubling to me to see a police officer engaged in this
kind of activity."

An informant told FBI agents that Brian McGarr said he would kill someone
if there was enough money involved, FBI Special Agent Kevin McCrary
testified Monday.

"I believe his words were that he would give the person a dirt nap,"
McCrary said.

The McGarrs are being held in a federal facility in Kansas. They have been
placed in an isolation unit for their own safety. Both waived their right
to a preliminary hearing. Federal prosecutors plan to seek an indictment
before a grand jury in April.

Brian McGarr first came to the attention of the FBI in June 1998 when two
confidential informants said he solicited them to identify drug dealers
whom he could rob. The investigation was dropped in 1999 after the
informants refused to cooperate, saying they feared for their safety.

McCrary also said that the FBI could not confirm the informants' charge
that the McGarrs were robbing drug dealers. He said the informants pulled
out before any evidence was uncovered.

Another confidential informant came forward in February this year with an
identical charge against Brian McGarr. Federal agents set up a sting
operation in which the informant directed Brian McGarr to government
vehicles and undercover agents.

On Feb. 22, the informant sent Brian McGarr to a supposed drug courier's
vehicle at the American Inn on Noland Road. McGarr was on duty at the time,
court documents say. He radioed to police headquarters that he was taking
two hours leave, changed into civilian clothes and went to the American Inn.

When he arrived, McGarr located the vehicle, smashed a window and took
$6,700 from the front seat. He returned to duty shortly after. McGarr is
not charged in that theft.

In a second set-up, the informant told McGarr that two female drug couriers
were meeting at the House of Sleep on East U.S. 40 on March 18. The women,
actually undercover FBI agents, were supposed to have $10,000 in drug
money. McGarr, while on patrol duty, went to the location and approached
the vehicle.

McGarr called police dispatch, saying he was assisting a driver, and ran a
check on the vehicle's license plate but left the scene without trying to
rob the two women. In phone conversation with the informant, McGarr
allegedly said he was nervous about the situation because the passenger was
asking too many questions and the women spoke better English than he expected.