A law officer charged with stealing debris from space shuttle Columbia after it disintegrated over Texas took nothing but useless "junk," the man's lawyer said Monday at the start his federal trial.

Eldred Smith, the lawyer, challenged prosecutors to prove the debris that Robert Hagan II, 46, had in his possession was worth anything. The government alleges Hagan, who took part in the search for debris in Nacogdoches County, stole property valued at $1,000 or more. "Every piece of debris that fell to the Earth potentially held the key to the disaster," Assistant U.S. Attorney Malcolm Bales told the jury.

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