DETROIT -- The credibility of a key witness in the 19-month investigation into the southern Michigan militia called the Hutaree came under scrutiny Wednesday during the trial in U.S. District Court of members accused of conspiring to kill police to spur an overthrow of the government.

FBI Special Agent Leslie Larsen, who was the first witness to testify for the government, was questioned by defense attorneys about the conduct of paid-informant Dan Murray, who trained and secretly recorded conversations with Hutaree members for more than a year.

Murray, 57, who began his role as an FBI informant in 2006, fired a gun at his wife in their home during a domestic dispute Feb. 26, 2010, court records indicate, nearly two months before the defendants were swept up in raids in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. Weeks later, Murray sought treatment for psychological and substance abuse after he stabbed himself with a knife in his Dearborn, Mich., home. Initially Murray told police that he had been stabbed by his wife, court records said.

In response to questions from Tina Stones' attorney Michael Rataj, Agent Larsen said Dearborn police detectives contacted her the day after the shooting because Murray said he was working for the FBI.

She also confirmed to the attorney that she knew he voluntarily underwent treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.

Agent Larsen, who supervised the investigation into the Hutaree, said Murray last had any training with Hutaree in January, 2010, and she and other FBI agents decided about two weeks before the shooting to pull Murray from the Hutaree because an FBI undercover agent had become entrenched and Murray was no longer needed.

However, she testified he remained on the payroll because he was needed to help analyze voices on the recordings he made.

In addition to Mrs. Stone, also charged in the conspiracy are her husband, David Stone; his sons, David Stone, Jr., and Joshua Stone; Michael Meeks; Thomas Piatek, and Kristopher Sickles. They are charged with conspiracy to commit sedition, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, and firearms offenses.

They are accused of plotting to kill an unidentified law enforcement officer and then attack the funeral procession in an attempt to cause a broader rebellion against the government.

Murray, who is expected to testify for the government, was convicted in July, 2010, in Wayne County Circuit Court. In a deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to discharging a gun at a building and was sentenced to probation. Additional charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and a firearms charge were dismissed.

Agent Larsen testified Tuesday that she decided to have Murray infiltrate the Hutaree after she saw suspicious weapons and explosives in videos on the group's Web site.

The trial, which is expected to last six to eight weeks, will continue Thursday.

Contact Mark Reiter at: markreiter@theblade.com or 419-724-6199.

First Published February 16, 2012, 5:32 a.m.