OFF THE WIRE
dailyrecord.com
One of four Missouri men charged with kidnapping a local pet food store owner last year in a case of mistaken identity signed a guilty plea Wednesday that calls for him to serve 18 years in prison.
Andrew Wadel, 22, made his guilty plea at Sussex County Superior Court in front of the man he kidnapped, Jeffrey Muller, who sat in the back of the courtroom with his wife.
Wadel, handcuffed and wearing an orange Sussex County jail jump suit, told Superior Court Judge N. Peter Conforti that he used a Taser to stun Muller before the victim was pulled into a car and driven 1,000 miles before escaping his captors in a Missouri convenience store parking lot.
“I was the one who Tased him,” Wadel said when asked to describe his role in the kidnapping.
Three other men face kidnapping charges in the case while a fifth man pleaded guilty late last year to conspiracy charges for his role in funding the kidnapping to recoup money owed from a different Jeffrey Muller. That Jeffrey Muller had been living in another New Jersey county but has since moved to another state, authorities have said.
Wadel, Douglas Stangeland and Lonnie Swarnes, Wadel’s uncle, allegedly kidnapped Muller in front of his Newton pet food store on Jan. 8, 2010 on orders from another man, William Barger, who allegedly told them he was starting a branch of the Hells Angels in Missouri and this would be their ticket into the club.
Roy Slates entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit theft late last year for his role in the kidnapping. Authorities said he was trying to recover $500,000 from a deal that went bad years ago. He was released and went home to Missouri to await sentencing, authorities have said.
Stangeland and Swarnes are incarcerated in the Sussex County while Barger is being held in Morris County jail to keep him apart from the others, said Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Greg Mueller.
Barger allegedly claimed to be the son of Sonny Barger, founder of the Hells Angels’ Oakland chapter. However, Barger and his attorney both told the Daily Record that they never heard of William Barger. The attorney said William Barger’s claims of having a connection to the Hells Angels was false.
Muller and his wife declined to comment. Muller had an arm around his wife’s waist as they walked out of the courtroom following the plea.
Abbott Koloff: 973-428-6636; akoloff@njpressmedia.com
