Dave Iseman

DISEMAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM

The Pulaski County sheriff is defending the use of exploding devices to raid a cabaret club.

The use of the devices, referred to generally as percussion or Flashbang grenades that are designed to distract or stun with loud noise and bright light, actually made the raid safer, said Ron Long.

He spoke to the News-Leader in response to comments made by the cabaret owner through an attorney who criticized the use of the devices as overkill and dangerous.

"We had a location that was a very elevated high-risk warrant," Long said. "We deployed them the way we did to ensure no civilians were hurt in any way."

He said undercover work and "intelligence" prior to the early October raid revealed that people in the club were likely to have weapons and drugs. He said the grenades can be effective in keeping someone from firing a weapon even if the person has the weapon in hand.

Found after the raid were four firearms and two replica firearms, the sheriff said. One of the real firearms had been reported stolen from a federal law enforcement agency, authorities said.

Club owner Matthew Wagner, 33, of Dixon, was charged Tuesday with five counts of allowing dancers to be nude or semi-nude, three counts of being open after midnight and two counts of selling alcohol. The sheriff said he also was in possession of a drug — he declined to say what kind — that resulted in an accusation of felony drug possession.

Officers from multiple agencies went to the After Dark club on Missouri 28 in Pulaski County about 1:30 a.m. Oct. 11 after detectives from the sheriff's department got a search warrant for the business, according to the sheriff's office. Detectives had been investigating the business because of suspected illegal alcohol sales, operating an adult cabaret after hours and female entertainers dancing topless and nude and other activities, according to the sheriff's office.

Long said deputies and others helping with the raid knew "a lot of civilians were inside" the business, estimating the number at 50 to 60. He said officers wanted to "make sure no one inside was hurt."

He said "well-trained people on our tactical team" used the exploding devices in two areas, one outside the business and one inside, careful to place them where no people were located. He said no one complained of being hurt for hours after the raid, as officers were processing the scene, though the owner's statement claimed injuries occurred.

Female entertainers were also cited with misdemeanor counts, Long said.

The Missouri Supreme Court in 2011 upheld a 2010 state law that banned nudity, alcohol and touching between scantily clad employees and customers in sexually oriented business.

News-Leader reporter Sarah Okeson contributed to this story.