Tales from the evidence locker


Flagler County Sheriff’s Office evidence custodians Mark Judd and Jason Prather deal with about 4,000 pieces of evidence a year. Much of their time is spent reading legal dispositions to determine what can legally be released to whom.
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office evidence custodians Mark Judd and Jason Prather deal with about 4,000 pieces of evidence a year. Much of their time is spent reading legal dispositions to determine what can legally be released to whom.
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Sometimes, the objects that make the Sheriff’s Office’s unclaimed property list aren’t worth much. Like these ones: Vacation magazine, partially burnt. Rubber clear object. Unopened Lifestyles condom.

But evidence custodians Mark Judd and Jason Prather, who bag it all and prepare it for disposal after 90 days of safekeeping, remember the items that are.

Moving monument

“There was a tombstone. It was a poured concrete tombstone, and this was probably about 10 years ago,” Judd said. “Somebody had found it on the side of the road.”

In most cases, the Sheriff’s Office melts down or otherwise destroys the things that sit in unclaimed property or found property for more than 90 days. But this was different. The tombstone was from the Depression era, Judd said, and deputies couldn’t track down a family member for the person who had died, or determine which cemetery it came from.

“After the 90 days went by, it’s like, ‘This is not something I can throw away. It’s not something I can dispose of. We’re going to keep it and keep looking.’”

The last name was common, which made the search difficult.

But then a deputy, Larry Jones, mentioned the tombstone to a pastor at his church, “And the pastor said,‘Yeah, I remember that family. He was buried up at the Masonic cemetery.’ So we were finally able to match it up with where it belonged,” Judd said.

Bringing out the big guns

Judd and Prather deal with about 4,000 pieces of evidence a year, plus another 3,000-3,500 other items that are found or are being held for safekeeping.

Many are guns, often held as a result of an injunction, or removed from a home where someone was Baker Acted, or taken from people who have been forbidden to have them.

Of the 124 items sitting in unclaimed property as of July 24, about 70 were firearms or ammunition. Of the 34 items in found property, about 3 were firearms or ammunition.

A lot of those are Saturday-night specials, but occasionally something valuable comes in.
“Sometimes you’ll have people cleaning out an old residence that the bank just recently took over, or where someone died, and you’ll have some property that’s left over in that,” Judd said.

The antitank gun was one of those, he said.

“This was probably about six or seven years ago. What had happened was an old WWII vet had died, and the wife had the son come over and they were going through his stuff.”

And they finally opened that old green crate he’d kept sitting in the corner of the garage, and discovered that it held a Swiss-made 1938 20mm antitank rifle — a roughly 7-foot long gun produced under contract for the German army.

“The craftsmanship on it was just unbelievable. The machining — it was like a watch, except it was a large-caliber rifle,” Judd said. “And it was like — 'aah' — you hate to destroy it. And we ended up having to take part of it to destroy it.”

The rifle could have been licensed at one point as a war trophy, Judd said, “But now that time frame had expired, and the son was like, ‘I’m not going to jail for this,’ and the wife was like, ‘I just want it out of the house, didn’t even know it existed, it was always just this old green crate that was in the corner of the garage,’ so we went — and they also had 250 rounds of ammunition with it — and we had St. Johns bomb disposal come down and take care of that stuff.”

The rifle, if it could have been licensed, would have been worth about $120,000, he said.

Smaller stuff

Then there are smaller things — enough bikes to fill a whole, separate room at the Sheriff’s Office headquarters, and common items like wallets, phones, knives.

“Some of the unclaimed cell phones have been donated to our victims’ services to be used for domestic violence victims, so that’s one way of recycling these items,” Deputy Paula Priester said.

The bikes, if no one comes for them, are donated to charities like the Sheriff’s Youth Ranch.

And there’s also miscellany like a piece of bandana, a portable radio, an Easton baseball bat. A church certificate with the owner’s name on it. A partially-burnt blanket. A Burger King Box.

Some of the seemingly-worthless items — like fast food wrappers — were collected as evidence. Deputy Paula Priester had to log them all into the Sheriff’s Office’s computer.

“I was actually giving these guys a hard time, because I was entering the items, and I said ‘What?’ And then we had a really kind of funny one – didn’t we have a condom? And I was like, ‘You guys have GOT to be kidding me.’ But, it is somebody’s property.”

Getting it back

Judd and Prather spread out manila envelops holding such unclaimed loot from a recent string of car burglaries in the Bunker area.

The envelopes had come from a single box; laid end to end, they covered a large conference table.
The Sheriff’s Office has hundreds of those boxes of unclaimed stuff, Prather said.

All people need to do to come in and claim something they lost, Judd said, is check the lists on the Sheriff’s Office website at flaglersheriff.com — go to “divisions,” then “evidence unit,” and scroll down — and call the nonemergency line at 437-4116 to make sure someone’s available to show the item, which would usually be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

One of the things that makes it hard to reunites former owners with stolen goods, he said, is that people rarely have photos or serial numbers of the things that were stolen.

“Get your serial numbers, your makes and models. Photograph if you can. It’s a routine that I do anytime I make a purchase of something that I want to get back,” Judd said. “And it’s a good teaching experience for kids, too. My grandkids came over, and we got them new bikes. And the first thing we did is took them inside and wrote those down.”

BOX: Unclaimed property and found property

Items that aren’t unclaimed within 90 days and can’t be used by charities are generally melted down by being placed in 3000-degree molten metal at a recycling center. The procedure is witnessed by several deputies. 

 

Unclaimed Property
 
Date Case Item Description
7/22/201422997-14Item 1Machette-I. Simpson
7/21/201469783-13Item 1S & W 40F .40 CAL-G. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 2Colt M1991 A1 .45 CAL-D. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 5Remington Arms MOD 740 .30-06-G. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 6FOX MOD/B 16GA Shotgun-D. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 7Glenfield MOD 60 .22LR-G. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 8Colt Sporter .223 AR15-G. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 9S & W MOD/686-4-G. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 10Ruger MOD P90DC .45ACP-G. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 11S & W .57 MOD/686-4-G. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 12Ruger Redhawk .44 MAG-G. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 13Ruger Security Six .357 Mag-D. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 14Westernfield Mod/740A-E MN 3030 Rifle-G. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 15500RB Box .223-G. Moraski
7/21/201469783-13Item 16Green ammo can full of misc. ammo-G. Moraski
7/10/201461547-14PKG 4Black Beretta model 20, .25 cal handgun with magazine and ammo
7/10/201461547-14PKG 5Smith & Wesson .38 Special and 3, .38 cal rounds
7/10/201461547-14PKG 615, .357 Winchester rounds
7/3/201436660*14PKG 1$388.50 Cash - E. Weber
7/3/201436660-14PKG 1A$64.00 - E. Weber
7/3/201436660-14PKG 3Black wallet, Misc. cards-E. Weber
7/3/201436660-14PKG 4S & W .357-E. Weber
7/3/201436660-14PKG 9Handguns, Hoslters-E.Weber
7/3/201436660-14PKG 10H & R 12GA-E. Weber
7/3/201436660-14PKG 11Remington Model 552-E. Weber
7/3/201459610-14PKG 1Pink container of personal defense chemical spray. Owner-M. Patten
7/3/201459591-14PKG 1Davis Industries Model P-380 handgun w/magazine and holster (silver in color) Owner-M.L. Gavin
7/2/201492190-13PKG 2Black LG cellular phone. Owner-Joseph Mazzella
7/1/201458925-14PKG 217rounds Federal Personal Defense ammunition
7/1/201458925-14PKG 1Remington 870 12 Ga. pump shotgun
6/26/201456851-141Found Property - Angry Birds suitcase containing notebook and childrens clothes
6/26/201456896-14PKG-1American Tactical Fatboy .45 W/Mag., T. VANBEVREN
6/26/201456896-14PKG-2Double Nine Convertable Revolver .22, T. VANBEVREN
6/26/201456896-14PKG-3Leftever Arms CO 12GA, T. VANBEVREN
6/26/201456896-14PKG-4Sheridan Products Pellet Gun, T. VANBEVREN
6/26/201456896-14PKG-5PT85 Pellet Gun, T. VANBEVEREN
6/26/201456896-14PKG-6Misc. Ammo, T. VANBEVEREN
6/26/201456896-14PKG-7Misc.. Knives, T VANBEVEREN
6/12/201465461-129BLU MAGNA Great Divide Bike
6/12/2014 10992-14PKG 1 Mens WHT SCHWINN RST-OMNI Mountain Bike
6/10/201451694-141Groovy Girls bike, pink and purple in color
6/10/201450765-141Quest Sierra bike, purple in color
6/10/201451970-141Next Slumber Party bike, pink in color
6/9/201449312-14PKG 1Tommy Hilfiger wallet, Blk in Color - L. Iaremchuk
6/9/201429739-121$57 in U.S. Currency
6/9/201424133-122Vacation Magazine Partially Burnt
6/9/201424133-123Church Certificate W/Owners/Suspects Name on it.
6/9/201324133-124Buck Knife and Charred Piece of Bandana
6/9/201424133-125Burnt Laptop Cord
6/9/201424133-126Black T-Shirt in Burn Pile
6/9/201424133-127Burger King Box
6/9/201424133-128Burnt Laptop Bag
6/9/201424133-129Burnt Blanket
6/9/201424133-121BUnopened Lifestyles Condom
6/9/201424133-122BDisp Razor Wrapper & Plastic Piece
6/9/201424133-123BBurger King Cup W/Lifestyles Condom
6/9/201424133-124BBottle of Lubricant, Lighter & Razor
6/9/201424133-127BToothbrush and Toothpaste
6/9/201424133-128BRubber Clear Object
06/05/201417535-121Easton aluminum baseball hat
06/05/201436002-121Nike Slide flip flop, black in color
06/05/201426241-121portable radio
06/05/201423095-121aluminum pocket utility knife
06/05/201436123-1215" blade fixed blade knife with 7" handle
06/05/201425097-121arrow tip and target head
06/05/201438193-122Inspire HTC Cellular Phone, gray in color
06/05/201433036-122Approximately 14" Dexter Russell chef knife
06/05/201433036-121Approximately 12" bakers/chef knife
5/16/201490692-13PKG 4CBC
5/16/201490692-13PKG 3Gamo Cal/4.5 (.177)
5/16/201490692-13PKG 2Remington Woodsmaster Modle 742
5/7/201425748-14PKG 1BLK Chevy Tahoe North Carolina Tag\Plate
5/7/201425748-14PKG 4Car Key, Key Fob
4/24/201459991-2008A91 Pair of Blue & White Infant Shoes - P. Hantzos
4/21/2-1420391-141SW .357 MAG Revolver W/Holster J. Rogers
4/21/201420391-142Westernfield Model M830 .22LR J. Rogers
4/21/201420391-143Taurus Judge Revolver W/Holster J. Rogers
4/21/201420391-144Savage Model 444 12 GA Shotgun J. Rogers
4/21/201420391-1453X 12 GA Shotgun Shells, 10X .410 Shotgun Shells, 5X .45 Colt Rounds, 6X .357 MAG Rounds, 26X 38SPL J.Rogers
4/21/201456433-131High WStandard Derringer .22 Mag C.Lumbert
4/21/201356433-132Marlin .22 Bolt Action Rifle D.Sharp
4/21/201418483-1111SMarlin .22 Cal. Model 60 D.Sharp
4/21/201418483-11LAB 27Benelli 12 Gauge Shotgun D.Sharp
4/21/201418483-118SJimenez Arms .25 Auto - D.Sharp
4/21/201418483-1112Arminus .22 Cal. Magnum Handgun D. Sharp
1/21/20146141-141SILVER AND WHITE COLOR MONGOOSE LEDGE 2.1 UNISEX MOUNTAIN BIKE SN/ SNFSD13J96860
1/15/201479040-121-6MARLIN .22 MODEL 25MN RIFLE WITH BSA SCOPE,28 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION AND CLIP FOR FIREARM, OWNER T. TROUT
1/15/201417491-1217Samsung cell phone
1/14/201424586-123ITEM 3-VANS BOOKBAG W/ MEGAN WRITTEN ON SIDE
1/13/20143071-141,2,3ITEMS OWNED BY V.H. KRIDER: TAURUS .357 MAG HANDGUN, S&W .38 HANDGUN, BLUE CASE.
1/13/20143416-141, 1AFLORIDA ID CARD,OWNER:ERIC FERRANTE. WALLET,DL,BANK AND GAS CARDS, OWNER: ERIC FIELDS.
1/10/20142714-141KEY TO CAR OWNED BY ROY SCOTT IV
1/7/20141795-1413SPRINGFIELD ARMORY .45 1911
1/7/20141795-1412DPMS ARMS .223 RIFLE
1/7/20141795-1411HK USP .45
1/7/20141795-1410BERETTA MOD/92F 9MM
1/7/20141795-1491000 ROUNDS OF AMMO AND HOLSTER
1/7/20141795-148SIG SAUER P226
1/7/20141795-146UNKNOWN MODEL REVOLVER
1/7/20141795-145MARKSMAN BB GUN
1/7/20141795-144RUGER 10/22
1/7/20141795-143NORINCO CHINESE SKS
1/7/20141795-142CHINESE SKS
1/7/20141795-141REMINGTON 870 SHOTGUN
1/6/2014862-14 1,2 OWNER J ATWOOD III - FN 5.7 PISTOL W MAGAZINE AND 21 ROUNDS, SN/386209922
1/6/2014374-141-7ITEMS OWNED BY W. MINTON: COLT MKIV PISTOL W/MAG, COLT MKIV SERIES 80 MUSTAND 380 PISTOL W MAG,GLOCK 17 WITH MAG AND CART,S&W .22 CTC REVOLVER W HOLSTER, SHOTGUN 12 GA WITH BOX OF AMMO, WALLET,KEYS,SANYO CELLPHONE, $15.00 CASH
1/2/2014185-141,2MOSSBERG 12GA SHOTGUN AND BLACK RIFLE CASE,HARD PLASTIC, OWNER IS J.R. OTTEN
1/2/2014101976-131,2PKG1-TAURUS TCP 380 ACP HANDGUN AND MAG SN/ 2225B, SIX 380 ROUNDS. OWNER: J. GONZALEZ
12/27/2013102827-131 - 7FHPG13OFF053968. OWNER: F.J. WINIAUSKI - BERETTA NANO 9MM,S&W .380, 3 MAGAZINES, BLACK CASE AND HOLSTER,BLUE GUNCASE, 33 9MM ROUNDS, SIX 380 ROUNDS
12/27/2013102762-132OWNER JASON LAMBERT - GARAGEDOOR OPENER
12/26/20131503-131GOLF CLUB OWNED BY ROBERT BRANDON
12/26/201358980-121COWNER PRABHA HARRIPAUL - WII GAMING SYSTEM
12/26/201349566-131-4OWNER JULIE PRATT. LEATHERMAN TOOL, YELLOW FLASHLIGHT,RED KNIFE AND CAMO BINOCULARS
12/23/2013101677-133WALLET OWNED BY NIKITA KHABAROV
12/20/2013100700-133KEYCHAIN WITH SINGLE KEY,A SKULL AND A BLUE CYLINDRICAL CONTAINER,OWNER ANDREW PATRICK
12/3/201393396-131BLK KELTEC P32 HANDGUN AND MAGAZINE,OWNER IS C. CESCHI
12/2/201393872-131WHITE HUFFY BICYCLE,WOMAN'S BEACHCRUISER, TEAL WHEELS AND TRIM, WITH TAPED ON FLASHFLIGHT. OWNER JOHN STUBBS
12/2/2013 93462-13 1 RAYMOND GLASS'S BICYCLE: NO SEAT, FEMALE/UNISEX SYLE 10 SPD SPRAY PAINTED BLACK APPEARS TO BE BLUE AND ORANGE OR COPPER COLOR UNDERNEATH, POOR CONDITION
11/12/201387092-131, 2OWNER IS W. EVANS : SMITH AND WESSON .38 REVOLVER STAINLESS STEEL, WOODEN HANDLE. 4 LIVE ROUNDS AMMO AND 1 SPENT CARTRIDGE
4/29/201229606-121PIETRO BERETTA 32 CAL HANDGUN
4/29/201229606-122MAGAZINE
10/13/201165792-111BLEATHERMAN TOOL
10/3/201163530-11LAB 6JENNINGS MOD/48 CAL/380
10/3/201163530-11LAB 5TAURUS MOD/PT111 CAL/9MM
 
Found Property
 
Date Case No.Item No. Description
7/18/201464313-14PKG 1Powerline Power Inverter
7/15/201462783-14PKG 1Green Medium size purse
7/15/201462783-14PKG 2Black Medium size purse
7/11/201461868-14Item 1Visa Debit card. Jared Good, Owner
7/11/201461868-14Item 2Visa Debit card #2. Jared Good, Owner
7/11/201461868-14Item 3Mastercard debit "Google Wallet". Jared Good, Owner
7/11/201461868-14Item 4Kohl's Merchandise credit card. Jared Good, Owner
7/11/201461868-14Item 5Receipt from O'Reilly Auto Parts. Jared Good, Owner
7/11/201461868-14Item 6Wallet (white in color). Jared Good, Owner
7/2/201459299-14PKG 1Smith & Wesson 9MM semi-automatic pistol, serial #RAZ7788 w/magazine (no rounds)
6/30/201458659-14PKG 1Roadmaster men's mountain bicycle, black seat/black handlebars. The bike was black and red, but it was repainted silver with black front and rear forks.
6/30/201458047-14PKG 1five button Volvo key
6/27/201457759-14PKG 1FL Tag 505NHW Decal 18625866
6/18/201454850-14PKG 2Mongoose Crush, Blue/Black w/front pegs
6/18/201454850-14PKG 1Red shirt
6/18/201454850-14PKG 1Yellow bag with sunglasses and a comb
6/16/201453635-14PKG 2FL Driver's License
6/16/201453635-14PKG 1Brown Purse
6/2/201449312-141Found Tommy Hilfiger wallet, black - L. Laremchuk
1/24/20146334-141FOUND SAMSUNG CELLPHONE
1/16/20144470-141,2FOUND DAISY BUCK BB GUN RIFLE MODEL 105B, BLACK BARREL,BROWN STOCK. ONE BLACK RAWLINGS BIG STICK BASEBALL BAT
1/13/20143756-141BLUE ASUS NOTEBOOK/LAPTOP SN/ DAN0CX822803440
1/13/20143098-141BERETTA 3032 TOMCAT .32CAL AUTO PISTOL, MAGAZINE. 8 ROUNDS
1/6/20141278-141,2SENTRY SAFE GRAY AND BLACK IN COLOR, ABOUT APPROX 14 IN X 16IN X 7IN. PKG 2 - PULSAR WATCH SN/143762,SILVER KEY,DUAL BAND RING,DOG COLLER, GOLF INSIGNIA MONEY CLIP
1/6/2014890-141,2OWNER: J ATWOOD III: S&W MOD SW40VE .40 CAL HANDGUN, 2 MAGAZINE WITH AMMO, BLACK UNCLE MIKE'S HOLSTER
1/3/2014460-141 - 4EMERSON DVD/VCR PLAYER, FINEPIX DIGITAL CAMERA, EMPTY VIDEOGAME CASES,VIDEOGAMES:HIDDEN MYSTERIES,MICROSOFT RETURN OF ARCADE GAMES,ROBOTECH INVASION,LORD OF RINGS,DVD-INDIANA JONES CRYSTAL SKULL,NASCAR 2005,AMAZING ADVENTURES,SILVER SUNGLASSES
12/17/201399385-131MEDIUM BLUE ROADMASTER MT FURY UNISEX BICYCLE,LT BLUE TRIM,BLACK SEAT,SN/ F03090016753
12/6/201395603-134LG CELLPHONE AND TMOBILE CELLPHONE
12/2/201394319-131DARK BLUE ROSS MEN'S 10SPD BICYCLE, BLACK HANDLEBARS,SEAT AND BLUE AND BLACK GRIPS,UNABLE TO LOCATE SER #
12/2/201393407-131, 2FOUND WALLET, ID, SS CARD, STORE CARDS AND KEYS, BELONGING TO JEANNETTE ROSS
11/20/201390156-131FOUND BABY TREND BRAND BABY STROLLER, BLACK AND GRAY IN COLOR
11/18/201388545-131A,2A,3A1A - PURSE OWNED BY NIKEGE ROBERTS, 1B - PURSE OWNED BY JANET SOWARDS. 1C - PINK CLOTH PURSE OWNED BY ANGELA ELLIOTT
11/9/201386156-131RED/SLV NEXT BIKE
11/12/201386281-131FOUND BICYCLE- 20" BOYS ORANGE STUNT/DIRT BICYCLE MONGOOSE, STUNT PEGS FRONT AND REAR, BLK SEAT,PURPLE PAINT ON REAR RIM

 

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