LANAGAN, Mo. —
McDonald County Sheriff Bob Evenson said Thursday that investigators have been probing a theft from the city police station in Lanagan.
Reported as stolen: guns and drugs.
“It was discovered last Saturday, late afternoon,” Evenson said. “The evidence locker was broken into,” and three firearms and a quantity of drugs were taken.
It is not unusual for the police station to be unmanned, given that the department’s two officers, who worked part time, have been on suspension for months.
Chief Larry Marsh and Officer Michael Gallahue were suspended in May after they were indicted by a county grand jury after being accused of writing fake tickets and altering the department’s annual racial profiling report.
Marsh is free on his own recognizance and is scheduled to be appear in court Sept. 21 for arraignment on five counts of forgery. Online court records no longer show a case pending against Gallahue. The town’s city clerk could not be reached late Thursday afternoon for comment on his employment status.
Attorneys for the men have previously said that the basis for the forgery counts could have been honest mistakes. The officers could have written down the wrong state statute number, making it appear that they were issuing tickets on nonexistent state laws.
Additionally, most of the town’s aldermen resigned about the same time after a state audit of the town’s books and municipal court procedures produced a rating of “poor” by the state auditor.
In regard to the most recent incident, sheriff’s investigators thought they had some clues in the theft probe this week, but the trail is growing cold, the sheriff said.
“We worked it pretty hard for a couple of days. We’re still looking at a couple of leads, but they are not as hot as they were at first,” Evenson said. “We’re just keeping our eyes and ears open, and we’re pretty sure the property will turn up at some point.”
Authorities are looking specifically for a pump-action shotgun, a .357-caliber Magnum revolver and a .22-caliber pistol.
Assistance sought
SHERIFF BOB EVENSON said authorities are asking that anyone with information about the theft call the sheriff’s office at 417-223-4319.
Crime & Courts
Guns, drugs stolen from locker at Lanagan police station
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