GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - A prosecutor in South Carolina said he borrowed a gun that was evidence in a criminal case for personal protection, and then lost it after it was stolen from his unlocked vehicle outside his home.
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins said a former sheriff told him he could borrow the gun from an evidence room after he declined a deputy for protection following a 2013 death threat.
The Sig Sauer P938 was evidence in a then open drug trafficking case. The prosecutor in that case said she could not successfully prosecute an additional illegal weapons charge because of its disappearance.
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“The gun in question, again if I recall, was an essential piece of the probable cause for the officers to get inside the car and search it, “prosecutor Lisa Parrish told The Greenville News .
Parrish has given $250 to petition candidate Lucas Marchant who faces the Republican Wilkins on Tuesday’s ballot.
The newspaper said it investigated the missing gun after receiving an anonymous tip. Parrish and Marchant, who worked under Wilkins when the incident happened but no longer are solicitor’s office employees, both said they were not the source of the tip.
Wilkins initially told the newspaper he had no idea the gun was evidence in an active case and the sheriff’s office should have figured that out. But a chain of custody report on the weapon showed Wilkins’ signature.
Hours later, Wilkins said he did know the gun was from an open case, but asked other prosecutors who agreed it would be OK to borrow it. Wilkins also said he thought the story was a “hit job” days before he seeks a third term.
Former Solicitor Bob Ariail said his practice was to never remove evidence from the evidence room and to have prosecutors or others supervised when they examined items so there would be a witness to say it never left police custody.
Ariail donated $1,000 to Marchant’s campaign. Marchant also said Wilkins’ actions with the gun were troubling.
“We never took possession of evidence as a prosecutor because then we become part of the chain of custody. In order to prove crimes or offenses, you make sure it’s the same or in the same condition as when it was recovered by law enforcement,” Marchant said. “If I took possession of it, I can’t prosecute the case. I can’t call myself as a witness to prove the chain of custody. That’s pounded in your head from Prosecution 101.”
The newspaper asked Wilkins why he borrowed a gun when he makes more than $140,000 a year.
“Well, I mean they’re like $600. And this was a temporary thing. I didn’t want to go and spend $600 on a gun I’m not going to own forever,” Wilkins said.
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Information from: The Greenville News, http://www.greenvillenews.com
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