South County authorities collected nearly 500 unwanted firearms at the region’s first gun buyback event in 25 years.
The gun buyback took place Dec. 14 at the City of Gilroy’s Corporation Yard on Old Gilroy Street. The event was organized by the Gilroy and Morgan Hill police departments and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. Those agencies were joined by local nonprofits in offering up to $50,000 to residents who wanted to voluntarily turn in weapons they did not want anymore.
Before the event opened at 9am, dozens of customers were lined up in their vehicles outside the corp yard waiting to turn in their firearms. According to Gilroy Police Sgt. John Ballard, residents turned in 493 unwanted firearms before the early afternoon Dec. 14. These included 26 assault weapons, 205 handguns and 103 shotguns. Authorities distributed $47,000 to residents in exchange for the weapons.
The event was also an opportunity for police to offer resources to the citizens, and this included the distribution of 200 packets of information on public health, depression and suicide, and 300 gunlocks, Bollard said.
The buyback was in part motivated by a rash of gun violence in South County in recent months, and with the July 28 mass shooting at the Garlic Festival still fresh in locals’ minds. On June 25, a workplace shooting at the Ford Store Morgan Hill resulted in the death of three employees, including the suspect.
Gilroy residents Dean Filice and Mike Leininger said public safety concerns and the Garlic Festival incident—which left three people dead and 17 injured—inspired them to turn in their unwanted weapons at the highly publicized Dec. 14 buyback.
Filice, a hunter, said he turned in his AR-15 rifle because it was similar to the weapon used by the 19-year-old Garlic Festival shooter.
“It was fun to shoot targets and things like that, but other than that, I don’t want to be associated with a gun like that,” Filice said.
Leininger, a retired police officer, said he turned in four “smaller handguns” at the Dec. 14 buyback because he doesn’t have much use for them anymore.
“They should do more of these (gun buybacks),” Leininger said. “The more guns we can take off the streets, the better.”
Local police and DA’s office staff have said that removing unwanted firearms from local homes could prevent these weapons from being stolen, and thus later used in the commission of a violent crime or robbery. The buyback could also prevent unwanted weapons from falling into the hands of children, or causing injury or death in an accident.
“Our goal is, this keeps firearms out of the hands of people where they don’t belong, and reduces gun violence as a result,” said Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing, who attended the Dec. 14 buyback. “We believe that will be the outcome.”
In the last month, Swing said MHPD officers responded to two incidents in which juveniles were found to be in possession of loaded firearms that did not belong to them. “That could have had a tragic outcome for our officers, or for someone totally uninvolved,” Swing said.
The buyback process on Dec. 14 was a tightly regulated drive-through affair. Residents were advised to stay in their vehicles throughout the process, while county crime lab staff removed the firearms from each vehicle. The weapons were checked for functionality, and their serial numbers were logged before they were placed in large steel boxes for safekeeping. Customers were then given vouchers, which they exchanged for cash before leaving the corp yard.
Authorities offered $100 for handguns and shotguns, and $200 for assault weapons. The collected weapons will ultimately be rendered inoperable or destroyed.
The event drew residents from outside Santa Clara County. Former hunter Richard Anderson, of Prunedale, turned in two hunting rifles that he hasn’t used in many years. “I saw this program was coming up, and thought I would get rid of them.”
When asked about the Garlic Festival tragedy, Anderson said he “felt so bad for everybody” affected by the July 28 shooting. He said he supports ongoing efforts to reduce unauthorized access to guns.
“What could we all do to get guns out of the community? We should ban all handguns and assault rifles anyway,” Anderson said. “Suppose somebody steals them and uses them” for crime.
Gilroy resident Marlene Bolla said she felt relieved after turning in her late husband’s five firearms at the Dec. 14 buyback. Her husband died 12 years ago, but Bolla didn’t know what to do with his weapons until the buyback was publicized. “I am very afraid of guns, and I wanted to get them out of the house,” Bolla said.
Flashing five $100 bills, Bolla said she might use the proceeds to “buy myself a Christmas gift.”
The DA’s office and police departments of Gilroy and Morgan Hill shared in the costs of the Dec. 14 event, said Deputy DA Adam Flores. Some South County nonprofit organizations contributed to the $50,000 pool of funds offered to residents turning in their weapons.
