Doubt Hits Gun Permits
Sheriff's Office Clerk Investigated in Fee Fraud
The validity of some of the 2,400 concealed weapons permits issued to Shasta County residents is in question after it was discovered that a Sheriff's Office clerk may have pocketed applicants' fees.
As first reported on Redding.com, Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said Friday that the woman's co-workers uncovered the alleged thefts in early June.
The woman, a 17-year veteran clerk with the sheriff's records department, was placed on administrative leave as soon as the allegations could be verified, Bosenko said.
At least 100 permit holders, mostly renewals, have been identified so far as possible victims, Bosenko said.
The woman is no longer employed with the Sheriff's Office, and Redding police are investigating the matter for possible criminal charges, Bosenko said.
Bosenko declined to name the woman because no charges have been filed and criminal and internal affairs investigations are still under way.
He wouldn't say whether the woman was fired or resigned.
Bosenko said it's believed that the clerk took concealed weapons applicants' cash and gave them copies of their permits.
She then pocketed the money and didn't file the appropriate paperwork with the county or the state Department of Justice, Bosenko said.
Only applicants who paid by cash are thought to have been targeted, Bosenko said.
The Sheriff's Office renews about 1,200 permits each year, Bosenko said. A permit lasts for two years.
There are about 2,400 gun owners carrying active concealed weapons permits.
Anyone whose permits were found to be invalid will have the problem fixed, free of charge, by the Sheriff's Office, Bosenko said.
"I'm determined to set it right," he said. "The public's trust is of utmost importance to me."
The woman also is thought to have taken cash paid for copies of Sheriff's Office documents and for fingerprinting, he said.
Bosenko estimates that a third of all the transactions in the Sheriff's Office are paid by cash.
It's still not known how much she may have stolen, and police and records employees are still combing through thousands of files, Bosenko said.
If charges are filed against the clerk, the Sheriff's Office will ask prosecutors to seek restitution to recover the lost cash, Bosenko said
In response to the thefts, the Sheriff's Office has tightened its rules on the way employees handle cash by changing the way receipts are verified and canceled.
The sheriff says he's also requested that Shasta County Auditor Connie Regnell audit the department.
Meanwhile, the Sheriff's Office has created a hot line at 245-6174 for concealed weapons permit holders who want to verify that their documents were properly processed.
They also can request verification via e-mail at
sheriff@co.shasta.ca.us.
Concealed weapons permit holders are asked to provide their full names and addresses as they appear on their permits as well as their permit numbers.
E-mailed requests should include the same information, but also should be marked "Attention Jeri Gannon CCW" in the e-mail's subject line to make sure messages make it to the records department supervisor, Bosenko said.
Reporter Ryan Sabalow can be reached at 225-8344 or at
rsabalow@redding.com
