‘Gas for guns’ nets 165 firearms

Alan Honeysucker received $100 in gas cards after turning in two handguns to authorities at Glen Oaks Baptist Church on Saturday, but he said he didn’t do it for the money.

Honeysucker, 44, said he participated in the city’s “Gas for Guns” program to prevent the firearms from ending up in the wrong hands.

“I just wanted to get it out of the house for the kids,” said Honeysucker, who gave away two .32-caliber handguns. “If it gets the guns off the streets, I’m for it.”

Honeysucker’s weapons were two of 165 guns that residents handed over to law enforcement agencies Saturday for the second incarnation of Baton Rouge’s voluntary, no-questions-asked gun buyback program, District Attorney Hillar Moore III said Saturday.

Authorities collected more than 250 guns during the first “Gas for Guns” in October 2010, Moore said.

Law enforcement agencies maintained two stations this year — Glen Oaks Baptist Church on Maplewood Drive and Living Faith Christian Center on Winbourne Avenue — after running four last year.

Most of the guns collected Saturday — more than 120 — were dropped off at Living Faith Christian Center, Moore said.

The program, sponsored by Circle K and local law enforcement, encourages people with unused or unsecured guns to give them to authorities so they stay away from criminals or children who take them from their parents, Mayor-President Kip Holden said Nov. 2.

Guns less than .38 caliber were worth a $50 gas card, Moore said. Anything higher than .38 caliber was worth $100, except for assault rifles, which were $300, Moore said.

Moore said he was once again surprised by the number of assault rifles the agencies received.

“When I was there (at Living Faith Christian Center), I thought I had seen five by 11 a.m. or so,” Moore said.

The District Attorney’s Office, Baton Rouge Police Department, the City Constable’s Office and Louisiana State Police operated the station at Living Faith Christian Center.

People who turned in guns there checked in with officers at the parking lot’s driveway before driving to the church’s entrance and dropping their guns off.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White, who briefly stopped by the church, said the response from the public was enthusiastic.

“The citizens that are coming in understand the importance of getting these guns off the streets,” White said.

White said authorities will examine “fireable” guns at the State Police Crime Lab for possible homicide evidence before destroying them.

“It is our intent to destroy each and every gun that comes in here,” White said.

East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies ran the station at Glen Oaks Baptist Church. Deputies would ask people to remove their firearms from their vehicles before checking them in, said Sheriff’s Capt. Anthony Ponton.

Deputies removed ammunition from the guns and sealed the firearms off so they could not be loaded on site, Ponton said.

Ponton said his station received a wide variety of handguns and even a few sawed-off shotguns.

“We had a bunch of people saying they wish we could do it more often,” Ponton said.

White said he thinks the city will run the program again sometime in the future.

“I think with corporate sponsorship, we will,” White said. “When will that be? I don’t know.”

Several businesses, such as Turner Industries and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, have said they are interested in sponsoring the event, White said.

The city may try to target other areas, such as Gardere Lane, the next time it runs the “Gas for Guns” program, Moore said. Authorities operated a drop-off point at Gardere Lane last year.

“We should have money left over to do it again,” he said.