No longer needed as evidence in the crimes they represent, about 75 guns and 200 knives went on brief display Tuesday at the Kane County sheriff’s office before being melted down for more useful and less harmful items.
To destroy the weapons, the Sheriff’s Department obtained a court order stating that the case in which the gun had been involved has been adjudicated and is not pending an appeal.
“It’s kind of tricky and involves a lot of paperwork to destroy weapons,” said Deputy Kevin Hogle, evidence technician and property control manager.
At any given time, there are about 400 weapons locked up in the department’s evidence room, some of them relating to cases dating back to the 1970s, Hogle said.
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Sheriff Ken Ramsey and his command staff displayed the arsenal, which included 25 rifles and shotguns and about 50 handguns of varying caliber, at a brief news conference Tuesday.
After being stripped of wooden handles and other non-metal materials, the weapons will be turned over to the Shumway & Sons foundry in Batavia to be melted down.