Lawyer: Chelsa Wagner rejected plea deal because she wants to clear her name

Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner rejected an offer to plead guilty to a charge of disturbing the peace stemming from a March 6 confrontation at a Detroit hotel with police and hotel staff, one of her attorneys said Tuesday.

The plea offer came to light as jury selection began in Wagner’s trial in Wayne County Common Pleas Court in Detroit

“It ultimately came down to Chelsa didn’t want to plead guilty to something she didn’t do. She wants to fight for her name and I don’t blame her,” said Kevin Mincey, a Philadelphia-based attorney who is part of Wagner’s defense team.

Wagner, 42, of North Point Breeze, is on trial on charges of resisting and obstructing the police, a felony, and disorderly conduct.

Jury selection started Tuesday morning but was delayed because wintry weather in Detroit caused some potential jurors to stay home. Jury selection is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Thursday and the trial probably won’t begin until Monday, according to the Wayne County prosecutor’s office.

Wayne County Judge Dalton Roberson apologized to prospective jurors about the delay, according to tweets by Detroit News reporter George Hunter, who is covering the trial for the newspaper.

Before jury selection began Tuesday, Roberson ruled that Wagner’s defense won’t be able to tell the jury that Wagner’s husband, Khari Mosley, was acquitted in July on charges of disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace stemming from the same incident.

The judge will allow police to testify that Wagner appeared to be drunk during the encounter, although Mincey noted they performed no field sobriety or blood tests.

The prosecution’s witness list includes a 911 dispatcher, several Detroit police officers and detectives, Mosley and hotel staff, the Detroit News reported. Mosley is the only defense witness.

Wagner and Mosley were in Detroit for a concert. When they returned to the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, Wagner said she went to their room and fell asleep. Mosley went to the hotel bar and then had a confrontation with hotel staff who wouldn’t give Mosley access to a room key.

The police ultimately were called. Wagner said officers woke her at the hotel room door, and she saw her husband in handcuffs in the hallway outside. A back-and-forth ensued between the couple and police that was captured by Wagner on her cellphone and police on their body cameras.

Wagner was detained and spent the night in a detention center. Mosley wasn’t arrested at the time.

“This had always been a retaliatory story. The charges were filed after they received notice that we were suing them after the abhorrent treatment by the hotel and the mistakes made by police,” Wagner said last week.

Proceeding to trial in the case is “a matter of principle” at this point, Mincey said.

“If they thought they had a strong case, they wouldn’t be offering us 1-year nonreporting probation,” he said. “We’re still eager to put this case on, no matter how long it takes.”

Wagner didn’t return messages seeking comment.