CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) — An attorney for John Buncich has asked a federal judge if the indicted Lake County sheriff can have his guns back.
Buncich’s defense attorney filed the petition in U.S. District Court Friday. The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports the attorney is asking for the return of weapons the sheriff surrendered last year when he was charged with fraud and bribery. The sheriff’s attorney argues Buncich isn’t charged with a violent crime and “needs his firearms to carry out his employment.”
Buncich and others were named in a multicount indictment Nov. 18 alleging an illegal towing scheme in which the sheriff accepted bribes. Buncich has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
A federal magistrate released Buncich on bond with the condition he surrender firearms and not possess any while awaiting trial.
