Repository Collection 03
Missing Guns, Drugs, and Money at Buncombe County Sheriff's Department
ARTICLE SOURCE ENTRY
Last Revised • July 6, 2026
This Source Verification Page documents a follow-up newspaper article reporting additional audit findings concerning evidence management within the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department. The article details missing firearms, narcotics, cash, and other evidence while discussing deficiencies in inventory controls and chain-of-custody procedures. It provides independent reporting relevant to the allegations presented throughout Statement of Facts B regarding evidence preservation and accountability.
Related SMAR Citation
["Missing guns, drugs, and money at Buncombe County Sheriff's Department", MountainXpress, 6/13/07]
Source Name
Missing guns, drugs, and money at Buncombe County Sheriff's Department
Author(s)
Cecil Bothwell
Publication
Mountain Xpress
Publication Date
June 13, 2007
Verification Source
Missing guns, drugs, and money at Buncombe County Sheriff's Department
Source Location
Mountain Xpress
Highlighted Pages
1 - 2
Referenced in the Supplemental Motion
Page 16, Paragraph: 22
✔ Article obtained and reviewed.
✔ Relevant passages highlighted.
✔ Publicly available source
✔ Included within the Source Verification Archive
May's allegation that serious deficiencies within the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department
evidence room extended beyond isolated inventory discrepancies and reflected systemic failures
in evidence management and chain-of-custody procedures. The Mountain Xpress article is cited to
document audit findings identifying poor inventory controls, missing evidence, compromised
evidence packaging, failures in chain-of-custody documentation, and the inability to account for
substantial quantities of cash, firearms, and narcotics. May relies upon this source to support his
claim that deficiencies in evidence handling created conditions that could compromise criminal
prosecutions, undermine confidence in the integrity of physical evidence, and potentially affect the
reliability of past convictions.
Link to the original article.
Working research copy containing the highlighted passages cited in the Supplemental Motion.
Continue browsing the sources cited throughout Statement of Facts B.
Return to the main Source Verification Archive and explore additional sections of the Supplemental Motion.
Source Status
Cited to Support
Supporting Documents
Original Article
Highlighted Research Copy
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