Guns go missing in Waller County sheriff ’s office

Commissioner calls for outside investigation

A Waller County commissioner has called for consideration of an outside investigation or audit of the sheriff’s office’s firearms inventory after two weapons were reported missing this past week.

District Attorney Elton Mathis said he received notice Tuesday from Sheriff R. Glenn Smith that the weapons were determined unaccounted for during an internal audit. Mathis said he intended to wait to consider taking action until both the internal audit and one being conducted by the county auditor were complete.

Commissioner John Amsler said he expected to discuss the issue of the sheriff ’s weapons at a commissioners court meeting next week.

“I would like to know the extent of his inventory and the origin of the weapons that he has and where they go,” Amsler said. “He should be able to account for all of them.”

Eight stolen in 2015

Sheriff R. Glenn Smith could not be reached for comment. The Republican incumbent faces a Democrat, Precinct 3 Constable’s Lt. Cedric Watson, in Tuesday’s election.

“It’s just incompetent,” Watson said Friday. “You are a law enforcement facility; your weapons are supposed to be accounted for.”

News of the discovery comes almost a year after thieves stole eight guns from the sheriff ’s marked vehicle, which was parked outside a Katy-area restaurant where an event was being held in December 2015. Thieves absconded with a lethal cache of weapons, including an HK UMP 45 submachine gun that was fully automatic and could fire 600 rounds a minute. They also snared a 300 Blackout rifle and six other handguns.

Some criticized the sheriff for not immediately alerting authorities when he first discovered his burglarized truck, instead driving 30 minutes back to his Hempstead office to report it there. The sheriff said he felt it was more important to retrieve the serial numbers for the stolen weapons and upload them to the National Crime Information Center’s computer network promptly, in case someone was caught with the guns or tried to hock them.

That break-in brought added, unwelcome attention to a county reeling from the July 2015 death of Sandra Bland in the Waller County jail, which was ruled a suicide.

‘We’re concerned’

Whether to conduct a weapons audit was discussed in the aftermath of the incident involving Smith’s vehicle, and responsibility ultimately fell to the county auditor.

The newly discovered missing guns have been recorded into state and national databases, Mathis said. The sheriff’s office also was checking whether a deputy might have one by mistake. Mathis did not immediately suspect criminal activity.

“Any time a gun goes missing, we’re concerned about it,” Mathis said. “I’m hoping they’ll be able to put their hands on them in the next couple of days.”

Added Amsler: “I want to see us do better.”