The Inter-Mountain photo by Taylor McKinnie State Treasurer Riley Moore, center, shows the unclaimed property checks from last month’s firearms auction that he presented Wednesday afternoon to Elkins City Police Chief Travis Bennett, left, Randolph County Sheriff Rob Elbon, Jr. and Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force Commander Cpl. David VanMeter, right.

ELKINS — State Treasurer Riley Moore visited Elkins Wednesday afternoon to present three local law enforcement agencies with unclaimed property checks from last month’s firearms auction, with the largest amount being more than $25,000.

Moore presented checks to the Elkins Police Department, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, and the Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, in a ceremony outside the Jennings Randolph Federal Center.

The event was part of Moore’s initiative to collect firearms set to be destroyed and rendered obsolete, and sell them at auction, to provide funds for law enforcement offices.

“It’s a wonderful program because prior to this, these firearms were just getting destroyed,” Moore told The Inter-Mountain. “By law, they would just be destroyed, but now we are able to auction these off and return those dollars back to the police department, the ones who donate the firearms to begin with. That’s why you see a difference in the checks. It’s based on who turned in what firearms.”

The Elkins Police Department, represented by Police Chief Travis Bennett, received $5,703.50 Wednesday. The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, represented by Sheriff Rob Elbon, Jr., received $4,143.75. The Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, represented by Commander Cpl. David VanMeter, received $27,960.75. 

“We are very grateful,” VanMeter told The Inter-Mountain. “I believe (our check) is one of the largest ones in the state, is my understanding, from this gun auction. All this money will go to help us combat drugs and help get drugs off the streets and keep from getting into our schools.”

Bennett was also grateful for the amount his department received, and expressed how helpful the program has been for the EPD.

“This isn’t the first time that we’ve done this,” Bennett told The Inter-Mountain. “We’ve been doing this for a few years now and it’s a very good way for us to clear out guns that we’ve seized and taken off the street, and turn that around and make it profit our department to where we can purchase equipment and do things to help make our town safe.”

Moore said 18 law enforcement agencies around the state participated in the September auction, raising more than $176,000, passing the previous record of more than $141,000 raised during the March 2023 firearms auction. Moore added that his office hopes to one day have every county participate in the program.

“This gun auction, we’ve been doing for a few years now and it has grown exponentially,” Moore told The Inter-Mountain. “We used to do one a year, now we’re doing two a year. So, one in March, one in September.”

Moore said that, during his first year as state treasurer, he believes that the program collected around 150,000 firearms, and this year they were approaching around 300,000 firearms collected.

Since the fiscal year began on July 1, Moore’s office’s Unclaimed Property Division has returned more than $4.1 million to individuals, businesses and organizations.

“It’s also a win for the gun store owner as well, because they’re able to get these firearms, bid on those and then refurbish those firearms and turn them around and sell them as well,” Moore said. “So it’s also a boost for small business here in West Virginia.”

For more information about the unclaimed property program, or to find out if the office is holding any money for you, visit www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov.