Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner takes plea deal in Detroit case

Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner on Thursday pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace during a confrontation last year with police in a Detroit hotel.

In a plea agreement, Wagner had a felony count of obstruction reduced to disturbing the peace. She then pleaded no contest to that lesser charge and was sentenced to probation.

A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as a guilty plea in court.

Wayne County Court Judge Regina Thomas sentenced Wagner, 42, of North Point Breeze to six months of nonreporting probation and ordered her to pay $600 in court costs and $53 to a crime victim’s fund, according to Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller.

The court will dismiss the case if Wagner successfully completes her probation, Thomas said.

Wagner spokeswoman Marcia Perry said in a statement that Wagner promptly paid the money but disagreed with Miller’s version of the proceeding. Perry said the judge stipulated that charges would be dismissed once Wagner paid the money.

Miller described Perry’s assertion as “erroneous” and reiterated that Wagner must first complete probation before the case can be dismissed.

“Please be advised that the case has not been dismissed by the court,” she said. “Ms. Wagner has a six-month period of nonreporting probation where she must not have any new criminal cases and must pay court costs and fines. It is a plea under advisement, and after six months the judge can dismiss her case.”

Wagner, according to Perry, said she is happy the “yearlong nightmare” is over and that she and her husband, Khari Mosley, were returning to spend Valentine’s Day at home with their children.

“We … look forward to seeking justice civilly in this matter, as we had always intended, but for now will focus on our family,” Mosley said in a statement.

Perry said the statement was the only comment Wagner and Mosley would provide.

Mosley was acquitted of disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace during a July trial stemming from the same incident March 6.

The couple last year traveled to Detroit as a post-Valentine’s Day getaway and were staying in a downtown hotel. After returning from a concert, Wagner went to the room and Mosley to the hotel bar without a room key. He began arguing with hotel staff after they refused to give him a key, according to police.

Police arrived, and the dispute moved to the hotel room where Wagner was accused of obstructing police and taken to jail, where she spent the night.

A jury in November found Wagner not guilty of disturbing the peace but deadlocked on a felony count of obstruction. She was scheduled for trial in April.

Wagner and prosecutors reached a plea agreement when she appeared Thursday for a pretrial hearing.

Disturbing the peace is a “90-day misdemeanor” under Michigan law, Miller said. Perry compared it to a summary offense in Pennsylvania.