JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
He's the former police chief of Bassfield who retired and is now a Jefferson Davis County constable and this what is a search warrant turned up inside the home of constable Walter Earl Bullock, an arsenal of guns, 72 total, including 3 automatic rifles and 4 sawed-off shotguns, most of which State Auditor Stacey Pickering says were bought and paid for with taxpayer money.
"It appears that most if not all weapons belong to the city of Bassfield or Jefferson Davis County and should not be assigned to this individual," said Pickering.
Pickering says it's tens of thousands of dollars worth of inventory including ammunition, a taser gun and even night vision goggles which still have a property of Jeff Davis County label.
"When we checked with the county, those goggles were assigned to another officer, never were assigned to this constable," said Pickering
Pickering believes most of the weapons were obtained illegally and were never even missed by law enforcement agencies, for good reason.
"When we talked to the current police chief, he was not aware any of these weapons were in the possession of his predecessor or that they even belonged to the police department<" said Pickering.
By not being part of the listed inventory, Pickering says that shins a spotlight on a much larger problem across the state.
"When it comes to property, law enforcement agencies are notorious for not keeping good records and accurate records," said Pickering.
After reaching Bullock by phone, he says he's not guilty of the accusations and was unaware of what was happening. At this point, no charges have been filed against Bullock and the auditor's office is trying to figure out proper ownership so the weapons can be returned, expect for the sawed-off shotguns, which are illegal and will be destroyed.
"We really didn't ask him why he needed these weapons, our concern is the ownership, the track record, they were purchased with taxpayer dollars," said Pickering.
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