In the first day of the Oakland federal trial of Devon Wenger on charges of conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids, his former co-defendant took the stand to testify against him. (Terry Chea/AP Photo)
In the first day of a former Antioch police officer’s federal trial on charges of conspiring to illegally distribute anabolic steroids, his former co-defendant testified about selling the drugs to law enforcement in the East Bay and beyond.
After taking a plea deal with prosecutors, Daniel Harris took the stand Monday in an Oakland federal courtroom to testify against Devon Wenger, a fellow former Antioch officer who Harris called a friend and who sold him his Discovery Bay home before federal authorities descended upon it in March 2022.
Both were among the more than a dozen officers implicated in several scandals unearthed within the Antioch Police Department over the following year, including allegations that a small group of officers — including Wenger — conspired to use excessive force on residents without cause. That case against Wenger ended in a mistrial last month, but he’s scheduled to be retried in that case later this summer.
Sponsored
In his current trial, Wenger is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids as well as destruction, alteration and falsification of records in a federal investigation.
Harris testified Monday that he began using anabolic steroids to help recover from an injury, then later used them as he trained to be a competitive bodybuilder, all while on medical leave from the Antioch Police Department. He said he’d buy the steroids from “an underground lab” in Florida and distribute them to “clients” in other states, most of whom were former or current law enforcement.
An Antioch Police vehicle drives through Antioch on March 3, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)
“People love the stuff I get from you so there are no complaints,” Harris testified to emailing his dealer, known as “True Shot Pharmaceuticals.”
One of those people was allegedly Wenger.
During his time with Antioch police, Wenger had aspirations of training to become a Green Beret, the nickname for the elite U.S. Army Special Forces.
“I need some test or growth shit in my life,” Wenger texted Harris in February 2023, with Harris explaining on the witness stand that “test” is slang for testosterone.
“I’m tired of being lean bro,” Wenger texted. “I just want to be a fucking animal.”
“You already are an animal,” Harris replied.
In opening statements, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Cheng called Wenger “a sworn police officer who agreed to distribute anabolic steroids to someone else, and when he got caught, he destroyed the evidence.”
Wenger’s attorney, Dena Young, agreed in her opening statement that the trial was about a police officer who distributed steroids.
“But that’s not Mr. Wenger. That’s Daniel Harris,” Young said, adding that there was no evidence of Wenger possessing steroids. Wenger sat next to his attorney in court in a dark suit, sometimes nodding or shaking his head as people testified about his alleged involvement in the steroid conspiracy.
Young pointed to Harris’ plea agreement with federal authorities, saying he has agreed to testify truthfully “in the eyes of the government.”
“His fate is in the hands of the government,” Young said, asking jurors to pay attention to inconsistencies in his testimony.
Following opening statements, prosecutors called a slew of federal government employees, including
forensic chemists from the Drug Enforcement Administration in Pleasanton who testified that testing showed the substances seized were variations of anabolic steroids, which are Schedule 3 controlled substances.
As prosecutors laid out their case against Wenger, they pointed to digital evidence, including text messages and Venmo records, which they say Wenger used to pay Harris for steroids. Harris replied with “GET HUGE BRO” after their first of only two transactions, the Venmo records showed.
Shortly after allegedly using the anabolic steroids, Wenger texted Harris: “Feeling juicy bro.”
The A.F. Bray Courthouse in Martinez on Aug. 25, 2023. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
“Welcome to the anabolic club!” Harris responded, later adding that the two should be quiet about it so that people at the Police Department didn’t find out.
Prosecutors allege that Wenger soon introduced Harris to Brendon Mahoney, another potential customer, in February 2022. “Wenger acted in the middle,” Cheng said.
Mahoney, a medic with the U.S. Army’s Special Forces, testified to meeting Wenger at a Special Forces training in 2021 and subsequently becoming friends. Wenger told him about Harris because of the “line of work we’re in, it’s physically demanding,” he said.
“I was interested in purchasing testosterone,” Mahoney said. “Mr. Harris seemed like the individual who would facilitate that.”
Mahoney testified that he assumed payment and delivery of the testosterone would have “come through Devon,” but he never actually paid for or received anything from Wenger and had easily directly contacted Harris himself.
Young asked Mahoney if he needed Wenger to buy steroids from Harris. “I don’t believe so,” Mahoney replied.
On March 1, 2022, federal law enforcement agents seized a Priority Mail package with a tracking number from the clandestine Florida lab, which a postal inspector testified was a fictitious business name tied to a single-family residence. The package was addressed to “Danny Moore” at Harris’ home in Discovery Bay.
“No one named Danny Moore lived at that address,” said Sukhdeep Singh, a postal inspector with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the USPS.
Instead, it was meant for Harris, who was allegedly going to distribute them to Wenger, who would deliver them to Mahoney.
Soon, authorities searched Harris’ residence, finding drawers full of steroids, needles and other contraband. They seized his iPhone, which allegedly showed his text messages about steroid dealing with Wenger and others.
In his questioning of Harris, Cheng asked him what oath he took as a police officer.
Laughing, Harris said, “To uphold the constitution and protect and serve the community.”
“Do you regret what you did? Cheng asked.
“Every day,” Harris replied.
Federal authorities soon went to Wenger’s home, where he hung up on them when they called his phone. Cheng said FBI agents texted with Wenger, who indicated he may have believed it was a potential scam.
“We are trying to give you a professional courtesy of a low profile,” Teak Wilson, then a crisis negotiator with the FBI in San Francisco, testified to texting Wenger that morning.
They texted for nearly an hour before Wenger agreed to meet agents at a nearby parking lot. Cheng said Wenger surrendered his phone, but he had already deleted relevant information, including text messages with Harris and his contact on the Venmo app.
Cheng told the court that the government intends to rest its case on Tuesday.
