(A) (1) Noncontraband lost, unclaimed, stolen, unidentified or confiscated personal property (hereinafter referred to as “property”) and rifles, shotguns and handguns not required for registry in the “national firearms registration and transfer record” as is maintained by the U.S. government, hereinafter referred to as “firearm(s)” shall be held and stored by the Sheriff, for a period of 30 days during which time the Sheriff and the County Police Department shall make a reasonable and diligent attempt to ascertain:
(a) The rightful ownership and cause the return of property or firearm(s) being held; provided that, the rightful owner(s) are otherwise lawfully eligible to receive and possess such property or firearm(s) according to the laws of the united states and the state; and
(b) Such property or firearms is/are not of any evidentiary value in any current or foreseeable prosecution or appellate proceeding and is/are not to be destroyed by any court order.
(2) The above 30-day retention requirement of this section shall be deemed satisfied or partly satisfied by the period of time, if any, such property and/or firearm(s) may have been held by any other law enforcement agency, prior to delivery to the Sheriff of the county and shall therefore, be included and count toward such 30-day period that such property and/or firearm(s) are to be stored and held under this section before disposition of same as provided herein.
(B) (1) Upon the expiration of the 30-day retention requirement of this section, the Sheriff shall dispose of all such property and/or firearm(s) within 60 days following receipt of same, provided that the Sheriff may, at his or her discretion, hold such property and/or firearm(s) as he or she may receive until such may be sufficient to defray the costs of the public sale as herein provided; provided that, no delay shall exceed 90 days from the date of receipt of the first firearm in the sale lot, as provided by I.C 35-23-4.1-16(a)(4), as amended, and the disposition of such property and/or firearm(s) shall be in accordance with the following procedure:
(a) The sale of such property or firearm(s) shall be by public auction in a place convenient to the general public, with disposition going to the highest bidder who shall be lawfully eligible to receive and possess such property and/or firearm(s) according to the laws of the united states and the state;
(b) Prior to the conducting of said public sale, the Sheriff shall cause an inventory of all property and/or firearm(s) offered for sale to be made, and notice of the sale shall be advertised by two insertions, one week apart for two consecutive weeks in a county newspaper each week as provided in I.C. 5-3-1 et seq., as amended, such advertisement to appear no less than five days prior to the sale, and by posting notice of the sale at the county court house, in a place readily accessible and conspicuous to the general public, for two weeks, and such advertisement and notice shall give the terms, time and place of sale, and a description of the property to be sold;
(c) All monies collected pursuant to such sale shall first be used to defray the necessary costs of administering this section, with such surplus as there may be, along with a detailed accounting of such proceeds received for each item sold and each cost paid, being delivered to the Auditor of the county; and
(d) All handguns transferred at the sale provided for this section shall also be transferred according to the transfer procedures set forth in the laws of state, and more particularly I.C. 35-23-4.1.
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, the owner(s) of such property and/or firearm(s) may present a claim to the County Police Department for the return of same and, if first fully satisfied of the validity of said claim, the Sheriff and/or County Police Department shall return the claimed property and/or firearm(s) to such rightful owner(s) if such owner(s) shall be lawfully eligible to receive and possess such property and/or firearm(s) according to the laws of the United States and the state; provided that, such claims shall be made before sale as herein provided.
(3) The Auditor of the county shall cause all net proceeds of each sale to be deposited into the County General Fund.
(C) (1) If any clause, phrase, provision or section of this section, or application thereof to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect or render void any other clause, phrase, provision, section or application of this section which can be given effect without the invalid part of application thereof. It is the intention of the Board of Commissioners, in the adoption of this section to adopt each clause, phrase, provision of this section are declared to be severable.
(2) It is the intention of the Board of Commissioners of the county, that ordinance be unified coverage of its subject matter, and no part of this section shall be deemed to be impliedly repealed by any subsequent ordinance if such construction can be reasonably avoided.
(Ord. 2-1981, passed 4-6-1981)