Police to Trade Seized Weapons for New Guns

The Santa Paula Police Department is trading seized guns for new weapons from an out-of-state dealer, a type of barter other agencies have halted for fear that it puts firearms back on the streets.

Police officials say the arrangement--which would ship 83 confiscated handguns and rifles to Jack First Inc. of Rapid City, S.D.--is the only way the small department can afford new weapons.

Santa Paula’s police force is the only law-enforcement agency in the county to trade seized weapons. All others--along with the FBI, the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department--either have abandoned the practice or avoided it entirely.

Santa Paula itself abandoned local weapons auctions three years ago because “there are already enough guns out there as it is,” Cmdr. Bob Gonzales said. “Why take weapons off of criminals and put them back on the street again?”

This time, Gonzales said, “there is a difference: It’s going to South Dakota versus here. The weapons won’t be sold here.”

He added: “We have to pursue every venue we can to generate some money.”

Jack First, a former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who advertises with police departments nationwide, said about half the bartered guns would be resold in his gun shop and the rest would be dismantled and sold as parts.

“It’s very foolish to destroy [confiscated guns] and throw them all away,” First said. “Police lay their lives on the line to get them--they should get something back for it.”

Rapid City Assistant Police Chief Dick Talley said he doesn’t mind the shipment, but his own department halted such sales two years ago.

“We’re seeing more juveniles using guns,” he said, noting that Rapid City--with a population of about 60,000--had its first two drive-by shootings in 1995. “Do I want to see more guns on the street? No, but it’s part of the culture here.”

Santa Paula’s new weapons will be used to arm a Tactical Entry Team, specializing in high-risk search warrants and arrests, Gonzales said.

The rifles, pistols and shotguns the department plans to trade are estimated to be worth $9,214, while the weapons they want to obtain will cost $8,546, Gonzales said.

The Ventura Police Department once made it a practice to auction confiscated weapons, but dropped the policy in the late 1980s. Now the city has about 150 firearms shredded annually.

“The money we were getting from the sale of guns wasn’t worth the perception that we were putting guns back on the street,” Lt. Steve Bowman said.

“Granted, selling guns raises money for a police department. But it also raises the number of guns out on the street,” said Lt. Fernando Estrella of the Port Hueneme police. “I think ethics has to play a part in the decision.”

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department also strongly opposes the practice. “The Sheriff’s Department is not in the business of recirculating weapons into the community,” Det. Larry Robertson said. “It seems unethical to do when we work so hard to remove dangerous weapons from dangerous criminals.”

State Department of Justice officials said the trend throughout California in recent years has been to shun the sale of contraband weapons, and national law enforcement organizations recommend that such firearms be melted or shredded.

“The idea is to keep as many weapons off the streets as possible,” said Gil Gallegos, president of the National Fraternal Order of Police.

Nonetheless, the proposal by the Santa Paula force was unanimously approved by the City Council on Tuesday and is expected to be accomplished later this month.

“We are dealing with a company that operates within the law. Their business is to buy and sell guns,” said Mayor John Melton. “I just would hope they would act responsibly.”

Not everyone on the Santa Paula City Council is certain about what Jack First Inc. will do with the firearms.

Councilwoman Laura Espinosa said after the vote that she believed the company would melt the firearms and resell the scrap metal. “I’m against more weapons on the streets,” Espinosa said, adding that she was not sure how she would have voted had she known that some weapons may be put back on the market.

Gonzales said the need for the new Tactical Entry Team justified the sale. For years, he said, the Santa Paula Police Department has relied on other law enforcement agencies such as the Sheriff’s Department and the Ventura police for help with certain warrants and arrests.

“If we are going to search a house full of gang people who possibly have weapons, it’s foolish for us to take an officer off the street and put him there to handle the situation,” Gonzales said. “Officers need to . . . have the proper weapons to do such warrants.”

Lima is a Times staff writer and Blechman is a correspondent.