July 28, 2004
Associated Press
SANTEE, Calif. - A California man arrested in Iowa told authorities there he knew of a terrorist plot to blow up trains in San Diego, but a search of his home found no evidence to back up the claim, officials said.
Agents from San Diego's Joint Terrorism Task Force last week searched the Santee home of Michael Wagner.
He appeared in an Iowa court Tuesday to plead not guilty to weapons charges. He is being held without bail.
An Iowa state trooper stopped the sport utility vehicle Wagner was driving July 14 after the trooper noticed he was not wearing a seat belt. Wagner told the officer he had no identification and gave a false name.
A search of the SUV turned up flight-training manuals, flight-training software, three bulletproof vests, night-vision goggles, a night-vision scope for a rifle, a telescope, a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, a bag of ammunition and marijuana residue in the ashtray.
Also found in the vehicle were numerous pages of literature and documents with Arabic printing, court papers said.
Wagner, a 44-year-old Navy veteran and Muslim convert, claimed to have knowledge of al Qaida's plans to shoot up commuter trolleys in San Diego.
The San Diego task force "has investigated those statements, and based on the investigation we do not find them to be credible," said Michael Skerlos, head of the terrorism unit at the U.S. Attorney's Office.
San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne told The San Diego Union-Tribune on Tuesday that many of Wagner's statements have been discredited by investigators.
"There are credibility problems with things he's saying," Lansdowne said. "After careful evaluation, we're not too concerned about his statements. We're not taking his threats too seriously."
Lansdowne said he could not go into more detail because the investigation is being run by federal authorities, who have kept him informed about the case against Wagner since the beginning.
Wagner was charged with being a violent felon in possession of body armor and being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition.
Wagner was convicted in California in 1988 of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, court documents said.
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