Badge Stripped From Second Antioch Police Officer In Steroids-For-Sale Cover Up

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — A second Antioch police officer involved in the department's civil rights abuses was stripped of his California law enforcement certification.

The Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training revoked the certification of Devon Wenger, 33, after the former Antioch police officer a jury convicted him of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and obstruction of justice for deleting incriminating texts.

Similar to professions like doctors and lawyers, the commission is a certifying authority for peace officers with the power to suspend or decertify them for serious misconduct.

Federal prosecutors accused Wenger and fellow Antioch Police officer Daniel Harris in 2023 of conspiring to distribute steroids. Prosecutors said the two men conspired illegally to distribute the drugs to an unnamed customer.

According to the 2023 indictment, Harris possessed and attempted to possess the drugs, and Wenger attempted to delete evidence of the scheme from his cell phone before handing the phone over to law enforcement officers. Wenger also conspired with other Antioch officers to use unreasonable force to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate residents of the city, a federal jury found.

The uses of excessive force, including gratuitous siccing of a police dog on suspects, using less-lethal 40mm launchers, and other unnecessary violence, prosecutors said. Wenger also hid his activity from police reports and other official documents, according to prosecutors.

A jury convicted Wenger of conspiracy against rights, the U.S. Department of Justice said in September, a week after the Antioch City Council received its first report from the man hired to oversee the department's "shape up or ship out" agreement with the DOJ.

Wenger faces up to 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 2, according to prosecutors. The commission revoked the certification of Harris in June for conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and obstruction of justice, as well as bank fraud.

The Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training records show Harris was last employed by the Antioch Police Department in December 2022. Wenger was employed until June 2023.

Read more about the investigation into Wenger and the department:

Former Antioch Police Officer Sentenced To Prison For Abuse And Intimidation

Feds: Officers Indicted For College Scam, Steroids, Wiretap Fraud, Civil Rights Violations

Bay City News contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025 Bay City News, Inc.