Desoto County gets good deal on weapons

DeSoto County got a good deal on new weapons for the sheriff’s department with a firm called Barney’s. And no, it’s got nothing to do with Deputy Barney Fife of Mayberry fame.

“It’s a well-known company with branches across the area,” Sheriff Bill Rasco said of Barney’s Police Supplies, based in Lafayette, La. “We feel real good about the arrangement; our weapons were getting pretty old but we were able to get a good trade on them.”

Barney’s has two Mississippi outlets, in Tupelo and Gulfport.

The bid from Barney’s was recommended at the June 17 meeting of the Board of Supervisors by Chief Deputy Macon Moore, and the panel approved it. Barney’s sales proposal was $409 apiece for 122 Glock 17 duty weapons for a total of $49,898; $484 apiece for 22 SWAT firearms, Glock 34s, totaling $10,648; and $409 apiece for 10 Glock 19 compact weapons, $4,090 in all.

Prices were identical with ri- val bidder Grenada Gold-n-Gun Exchange, but Barney’s allowance for all sheriff’s weapons offered in trade, $56,730, topped Grenada’s $55,305 offer. Applying Barney’s allowance to the $64,636 total purchase price, the anticipated cost to DeSoto County is $7,906. Karen McNeil of the county procurement office helped oversee the bid process.

Delivery is expected within 100 days, and Rasco is ready.

“We’re training four times a year, plus qualifying, and each officer can shoot 100 times at each session, so just that puts wear on our weapons over the years,” said the sheriff.

In other matters related to Rasco’s department this week, the supervisors endorsed a plan to seek bids for outside food service for jail inmates to save costs. Currently, meals at the new jail south of Hernando and the old downtown jail are prepared inhouse by two employees assisted by trustys.

The workers will stay, said Chad Wicker, director of detention services, with one going to janitorial and the other to the security staff.

“We plan to shut down the kitchen at the old jail and just use the one at the new jail,” Wicker said.

Using meal vendors “is the trend in jails nowadays,” he added.

“There’s one company that serves a million meals a day, and we can take advantage of buying power like that.”

The sheriff also reported this week that Justice Department inspectors recently found the juvenile- detention facility in the old jail over capacity with 55 youths. Rasco said the limit is 38. The overflow went to a dormitory in the female lockup area.

A facilities plan has been approved with an $11 million second-phase expansion of the new jail for adult inmates.