DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — An Ellenwood man said DeKalb County can't find the gun police seized from him when he was arrested in 2006.
"A weapon, how do you lose that?" Ralph Branch asked.
Branch has been asking that question for years. His quest to reclaim his property, including his .45 caliber gun, has been ongoing for eight years.
Branch was arrested for illegal reproduction of recorded material. Branch said at the time he was selling mixed tape and his weapon, a Cobra Patriot, was among the evidence held for two years until his court date.
When charges were dropped in 2010, Branch was free to get his items back.
"Property said my weapon wasn't there because DeKalb didn't have ballistics. So, they sent my weapon to Fulton County for ballistics," Branch told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh.
Branch said he's been trying to track it down ever since, ping-ponging, he said, between DeKalb County Police Department and the District Attorney's Office.
"It was brand new," Branch said. "I had only been to the range with it one time. I kept it on me as an order of protection."
Just last week, the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office provided Branch with evidence sheets. The first page shows in 2009, the office checked out his CDs and other items. The District Attorney's Office said the second page, listing the gun, indicates it was never in their custody. Rather, it remained with DeKalb police in their evidence locker.
Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh called the police department Thursday. A spokesperson said they are working to track down what information they have regarding the last known whereabouts of Branch's property.
"You expect to get your property back. You don't expect for your property, namely a weapon, to go missing," Branch said.
WSBTV
