SCOTTSBURG, Ind. (WDRB) -- Jewelry, watches, coins and nearly 200 guns will be up for grabs when the Scott County Sheriff's Office auctions off items it has confiscated over the past several decades.
The sheriff's office got the green light from the county's circuit court to hold an auction after its evidence room was audited. Authorities then put out an ad asking anyone with missing items to claim what is theirs. Anything that wasn't claimed — and isn't involved in a current case — now belongs to the department and could soon be yours.
"These items were shown to belong to Scott County — either by forfeiture, by recovering or by taking of a crime by a possession of drugs or something like that," Sheriff Jerry Goodin said.
The weapons range from a Remington 12-gauge shotgun to a Smith & Wesson .32-caliber revolver and even knives and a crossbow. None were used directly in crimes.
The Scott County Sheriff's Office is auctioning off items it has confiscated over the past several decades on May 22, 2021. (WDRB photo)
"These are weapons that obviously are legal to have — anyone can own; we’re doing it the legal way and it’s all about transparency," Goodin said. "This is money that we will be using for training, for our firearms training, for other training, other trainings that we have to buy equipment that otherwise would just be sitting there."
The transfer process will also take time.
"Nobody will be taking (guns) home with them that day," Goodin said. "They will go to a federal firearms licensed dealer, and they have to do all the paperwork background checks and all that before that person is given the weapon."
The Scott County Sheriff's Office is auctioning off items it has confiscated over the past several decades on May 22, 2021. (WDRB photo)
The auction is the first for the sheriff's office and will begin at 10 a.m. May 22 at the Mid-America Science Park.
Goodin expects some items to sell for as cheap as 50 cents, while others could go to "$50, $100, or even $1,000." He said the money the sheriff's office makes will be used in ways that benefit the entire community.
"What we’re trying to do is we’re trying to sell these items and recoup some of the money back to the taxpayers that the taxpayers spent on paying officers that are out here doing their job," he said.
The Scott County Sheriff's Office is auctioning off items it has confiscated over the past several decades on May 22, 2021. (WDRB photo)
For more information on the auction and to see some of the items, click here.
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