470 guns brought in during Santa Cruz County law enforcement gun buyback

UPDATE 03/24/18 5:36pm: A huge turnout for Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office gun buyback event on Saturday. Before the event was even close to ending, their bank account ran empty.

A total of 470 guns including 17 assault weapons were brought in by civilians.

The Sheriff’s Office tells KION all 40-thousand dollars reserved for Saturday’s gun buyback has been handed out. People still continued to turn in their firearms for free at locations in Santa Cruz and Watsonville. We learned one Capitola resident brought in 97 guns, and did not accept payment.

The event allows citizens to bring in unwanted guns without any questions asked. The main goal is to reduce gun violence and theft in the community.

Sgt Brian Cleveland with Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office says many of the people bringing in guns had inherited them from family and no longer wanted them. He says when someone no longer wants a gun it can lead to unsafe storage, “Over the course of the day there were many people who inherited shotguns or rifles after asking them where they commonly stored those guns, they would tell me in closets, underneath their bed, in drawers. So these are the types of guns that are potentially victims of crimes and get stolen and are later used in violent crimes in our state or county. So to get those guns out of homes where they’re not needed or wanted is a benefit for our community.”

After the guns are collected the Sheriff’s Office goes through a process to determine if any of the guns are stolen. If they are, they will contact the rightful owner to see if they want it back.

They guns that are left are taken to a recycling facility where they are destroyed.

This event was hosted by various law enforcement agencies in Santa Cruz County, with drop-off locations at the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and Watsonville Fire Station No. 1.

People received 50 dollars for rifles, 100 dollars for handguns and 200 dollars for assault rifles.