Weber County leaders OK sale of seized, forfeited guns through pawn shop
BEN DORGER, Standard-Examiner file photo
Hand guns for sale in the sporting goods department at Smith & Edwards in Ogden on Feb. 27, 2018.OGDEN — Guns forfeited to the Weber County Sheriff’s Office or seized by the agency will no longer be melted and destroyed, at least if they’re in good working condition.
Instead, Weber County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a contract with a South Ogden pawn shop, allowing the business to sell the guns, similar to an agreement with the City of Ogden that the Ogden City Council approved last November. Per the new contract, approved unanimously, Hy and Mike’s pawn shop will sell the guns, keeping 20% of the sales price as a commission and providing the rest of the money to the Weber County Sheriff’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives used to melt and otherwise destroy forfeited and seized guns, said Lt. Curtis Jeffries of the Weber County Sheriff’s Office. But they no longer provide the service, which required the county to make other arrangements.
“They’re stuck up in our evidence locker right now, which is some of the problem. We would like to get rid of those so we have more room for evidence,” Jeffries told commissioners.
Jeffries said most guns that end up in the possession of the Weber County Sheriff’s Office come from convicted felons, who aren’t allowed to own them. State law, he said, spells out the procedures to sell seized guns and the circumstances when such transactions are permissible.
The Ogden City Council approved a similar arrangement with Hy and Mike’s, which is federally licensed and insured to handle such transactions, to get rid of higher-end guns the Ogden Police Department seizes. Guns that have been reported stolen would not be sold through the pawn shop, according to city officials, while Jeffries noted that damaged guns also wouldn’t be put on the market for public purchase.
Hiram Barker, the owner and manager of Hy and Mike’s, doesn’t expect a flood of guns in the wake of the arrangements with Ogden and Weber County officials. Typically, just “a few at a time” come in from law enforcement agencies. Hy and Mike’s reached its first accord with a law enforcement agency to sell seized guns in late 2021, according to Barker.
Proceeds from the sale of guns seized by the Ogden Police Department would go to the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force.