Confiscated gun sales considered

AIKEN --- Selling guns is no longer just for gun dealers in Aiken.

The Aiken Department of Public Safety wants to start selling some of its confiscated weapons to federally licensed dealers, ending a 10-year practice of destroying them.

Department officials say sales could net the city's general fund thousands of dollars, and officials say they have a quick answer for anyone who questions the policy.

"Everybody says 'Well, you're putting them back on the street,' " said Aiken Department of Public Safety Capt. Wendell Hall. "But you're not always putting them in the hands of bad guys, and I contend that you're probably rarely putting them in the hands of bad guys."

He said most criminals steal guns instead of buying them from a licensed dealer.

"And that's not going to change," he said. "Bad guys don't normally go to the gun shop to buy their weapons."

By selling some confiscated guns, "You might be putting them in the hands of the lady who lives by herself and that's the only way she has to protect her home," he said.

The goal is to take confiscated guns in good shape and sell them in a bid process, sending the proceeds to the city's general fund.

Confiscated guns include those improperly carried, stolen, used in a crime or found by a resident or officer, when the owner can't be located.

Under the new proposal, guns in poor shape that could pose a safety hazard -- so-called "Saturday night specials" -- would continue to be turned over to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for destruction. Aiken officials say they're working on guidelines.

Aiken officials say the last batch of weapons they sent to SLED for destruction could have netted their department between $15,000 and $20,000 if sold to a licensed gun dealer.

The department says it checked 10 other South Carolina law enforcement agencies and found seven that have a similar sales policy.

Those agencies include the Aiken County Sheriff's Office and North Augusta Department of Public Safety, according to a report the department gave to the city council. In Richmond County, sheriff's Lt. Jimmy Young said officials have debated the issue, but he said they've opted to keep to their policy of destroying such weapons. The Columbia County Sheriff's Office also destroys all of its confiscated guns, said sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris.

The department says it has checked with its local solicitor's office on whether it is able to sell such weapons, and was told it would be allowed by state law.

Capt. Hall said confiscated guns in Aiken would be sold in bundles -- in a lot of 20 or more, and it could take up to a year to accumulate that many weapons. He said the proceeds could go a long way, offering as an example how his department spent $35,000 on sidearms 10 years ago to equip its entire force, with a few guns to spare.

"If you look at what we destroyed last time you could have easily paid for half of the cost for purchasing weapons for the police officers," he said.

Reach Preston Sparks at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110 or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com