GARDINER — If guns seized in the arrests of two people on drug charges in Gardiner are forfeited to the city, District 1 City Councilor Terry Berry said he thinks it’s wrong for a city or government agency to profit from something that was misused in the past.

On Wednesday, the Gardiner City Council was considering whether to accept nearly $13,000 of drug money and three guns taken into evidence in 2015 when Troy Sanders and Jaymie Logan were arrested in Gardiner on drug offenses and heroin trafficking charges.

Because of the Gardiner Police Department’s role and contributions to the investigation, the city is eligible to receive forfeited assets. Under the state’s asset forfeiture law, municipalities must vote publicly on whether to accept forfeited items if the court orders the forfeiture. In addition, the Office of the Maine Attorney General requires a public vote for each forfeiture.

Gardiner police Chief James Toman said at Wednesday’s meeting that the firearms could be used for training purposes, could be sold or could be used as a trade-in when the department replaces weapons for its officers.

“Given recent events, I don’t think I could live with us receiving these firearms that we could sell or give as a trade-in,” Berry said. “I can see them being used for training. But I would let the attorney general’s office keep the $12,000. That’s how strongly I feel about this.”

Berry asked that the guns be used only for training or be destroyed, and the council agreed when it voted to accept both the cash and the guns.

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On Tuesday, Logan pleaded guilty to drug offenses and agreed to the forfeiture. Sanders, who is serving an 18-month sentence for unlawful trafficking in heroin, also had agreed to the forfeiture.

On Thursday, Berry said he’s served on the City Council for only three or four years, and he has never been in a position to have to make a decision like this publicly.

His decision, he said, was not based entirely on the mass shooting last week at an Orlando, Florida, gay nightclub. Last month, a gun broker had advertised an auction for the gun used by George Zimmerman in the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, he noted.

“Orlando made another layer in the process,” he said. “I would have asked for this if Orlando had not happened.”

If city officials are asked to vote on accepting forfeited guns in the future, he said he will make the same request.

Following the vote Wednesday, Toman said if the city receives the firearms, they would be disabled and used in department training scenarios for new and existing officers.

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In a change to city policy, if received, the cash would go to the city’s general fund rather than to a separate fund administered by the Gardiner police. Until this year, the department used such money to buy items not included in the council-approved departmental budget.

City Manager Scott Morelli said the city has no policy on the disposal of forfeited firearms.

“The law says you have to vote every time,” he said.

Jessica Lowell — 621-5632

jlowell@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @JLowellKJ


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