VIDALIA, La. – More than 50 guns, outdated evidence that had

taken up space in the Ferriday Police Department’s vault for years,

are now resting at the bottom of the Mississippi River.

On Thursday morning, Concordia Parish sheriff’s deputies –

acting on a court order – traveled to the center of the Mississippi

River bridge and dumped cardboard boxes filled with the weapons

into the deepest part of the river.

And before they were dumped, the weapons were twisted in a

vise. &uot;They were junk anyway, old .22s and .32s,&uot;&160;said

Bob Bruce, identification officer for the Sheriff’s Office.

&uot;It was the easiest way to get rid of it,&uot; Bruce

added. &uot;This way, it won’t turn up on the street. And even

if it somehow did, those guns are too twisted up to be usable.&uot;

Two weeks ago, the Sheriff’s Office and the Seventh District

Attorney’s Office conducted an inventory of the vault at the request

of new Police Chief Bobby Sheppard.

There, they found guns and drug paraphernalia that were there

long after the cases they were related to had been solved –

in some cases, since 1986, Bruce said.

So on July 12, Seventh District Judge Leo Boothe signed a court

order allowing the Sheriff’s Office – the agency in charge

of destroying such surplus items – to dispose of the outdated

evidence.

The drug paraphernalia was burned, Bruce said.

&uot;This gives a lot more space, keeps the vault a lot more

organized,&uot; Sheppard said.

Officials of the Legislative Auditor’s Office also inventoried

the vault in late June. But Sheppard said the two inventories

were not requested because of any previous problems with the handling

of evidence.

Natchez Police Chief Willie Huff said his department does not

seize many weapons and has only had to dispose of guns once in

the past year.

Huff said they cut up the guns with a cutting torch.

Officials with the Adams County Sheriff’s Department said they

also use a cutting torch to destroy weapons or sell them at auction.