Former Antioch Police Officer Sentenced To 7.5 Years In Prison For Conspiring To Violate Civil Rights And Distribute Anabolic Steroids, And Obstructing Justice

OAKLAND – Former Antioch police officer Devon Christopher Wenger was sentenced today to seven-and-a-half years in federal prison for conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate residents of Antioch through the use of unreasonable force, conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids, and obstructing justice. Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White handed down the sentence.

Wenger, 33, formerly of Oakley, California, was indicted in two separate cases. In April 2025, following a three-day trial, a federal jury convicted Wenger on one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids and one count of obstruction of justice. In September 2025, following a seven-day trial, a jury convicted Wenger of conspiracy against rights. Wenger was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals in September 2025 and has remained in federal custody since then.

“Devon Wenger and his co-conspirators believed the badges they wore gave them a license to break the law. They were wrong. Today, the court held Mr. Wenger accountable for his betrayal of the public trust placed in him,” said United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian.

“Devon Wenger’s sentencing marks another significant step in a multi-year effort to uncover and confront corruption within the Antioch and Pittsburg police departments. His conviction, along with the earlier convictions in this case, underscores that no one is above the law. The FBI and our partners are committed to holding those who violate the civil rights of others and betray the public’s trust accountable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Agustin Lopez.

According to court documents and the evidence presented at the September 2025 trial, Wenger and two other Antioch Police Department officers, Morteza Amiri and Eric Rombough, conspired with each other and others about using excessive force against individuals in and around Antioch. The uses and intended uses of excessive force included deployment of a police K9, deployment of a 40mm “less lethal” launcher, and other unnecessary violence. The evidence showed that Wenger and others deployed uses of force as punishment to subjects beyond any punishment appropriately imposed by the criminal justice system. Wenger also withheld details about uses of excessive force from police reports and other official documents.

Wenger, Amiri, and or Rombough engaged in numerous communications in furtherance of the conspiracy, including an April 2019 communication in which Wenger sent a photo and booking information for a suspect to Amiri and Rombough and requested that they “[p]lease find this guy[] and f--- him in the a--.” Rombough responded “Deal,” and Amiri responded “ill bite em.”

Later in 2019, Wenger broke the arm of a young female shoplifting suspect, then pushed her sister to the ground, handcuffed the sister, picked the sister up and grabbed her neck, and smashed the sister’s face into the side of the patrol car, as captured on video. However, Wenger wrote in his police report that as he was escorting the sister to a patrol car, she attempted to pull away from him and that as a result of her actions she “subsequently fell onto the side of the patrol vehicle.”

In August 2020, after Amiri deployed his K9 to apprehend a suspect in Pittsburg, California, with Wenger, he wrote to Wenger “if pitt didn’t have all those body cams and that was us... we would have f---ed him up more. he didn’t get what he deserved.” Wenger responded, “I agree. That’s why I don’t like body cams.” The next night, Wenger wrote to Amiri, “We need to get into something tonight bro!! Lets go 3 nights in a row dog bite!!!” Amiri and Wenger exchanged additional messages and bloodied photographs after engaging with another suspect that night, and following Amiri’s deployment of his K9 to bite a suspect in a homeless encampment the subsequent evening. At the end of the week, Amiri wrote to Wenger, “let’s f--- some people up next work week,” to which Wenger agreed.

According to court documents and evidence presented at the April 2025 trial, in February 2022, Wenger set up the sale of anabolic steroids, a Schedule III controlled substance, between Daniel Harris, who was at the time also an Antioch Police Department officer, and a third individual. Law enforcement officials seized the package of anabolic steroids destined for Harris before they arrived, although Wenger continued to communicate with Harris about supplying the third individual with anabolic steroids, including offering to give this individual some of Wenger’s own while they waited for the delayed package.

On March 23, 2022, at 8:03 a.m., the FBI began calling and sending text messages to Wenger telling him that they were outside of his residence with a warrant. It was not until 9:00 a.m. that Wenger appeared for the FBI to seize Wenger’s cellular phone. Later forensic examination of that device showed that specific entries related to the anabolic steroid distribution conspiracy had been deleted.

In addition to the prison term, Judge White also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release. A hearing to determine the amounts of restitution owed to victims is scheduled for January 27, 2026.

The case is being prosecuted by the National Security & Special Prosecutions Section and the Oakland Branch of the United States Attorney’s Office. This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Office of the Contra Costa County District Attorney.

***

These charges against Wenger were brought as part of an investigation into the Antioch and Pittsburg police departments that resulted in multiple federal charges against 10 current and former officers and employees of these two police departments for various crimes ranging from the use of excessive force to fraud. The status of these cases, all of which are before Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White, is below: