500+ Guns Missing From Texas Police Dept Evidence Room – FBI, Texas Rangers Investigating

It all started when a pawn shop over in Humble, Texas, was subjected to a search by the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.  ATF had a warrant, and they took possession of 112 guns that — come to find out — were last seen in the evidence locker of a Texas police department.

How’d they get into a pawn shop from a police evidence room? No one knew, and an investigation began.

Now, it seems that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Texas Rangers are working together to solve this mystery.  Their latest tally?  Over 500 guns are missing from the Cleveland Police Department. 

While the FBI and the Texas Rangers both keep their ongoing investigations pretty darn quiet until they’re good and ready to reveal things, they do have to file a document in court now and then in order to do their job. And, the media has been monitoring court documents with both the Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle keeping tabs on this Missing Gun Mystery.

Piecemealing so far, we know that a Liberty County Sheriff’s Department Captain, name of Harold Kelley, together with some others whose names we don’t know (yet) were allegedly in a gun-trafficking scheme.  Seems Captain Kelley was the Custodian of the Evidence Room, and had one of only two keys for the place.  Who had the other key?  Man name of Henry Patterson …  Henry was serving as the assistant police chief at the time. 

And, here’s the smoking gun — Kelley’s signature was on the official evidence files for 98 of those guns found in the Humble pawn shop.  He’d signed to confirm that the guns had been destroyed.

What about the rest of the 500?  The Texas Rangers and the FBI are out there, looking for them.  Betcha they find them, too ….