Four stolen SBI weapons still missing

RALEIGH -- Over the last four years, agents with the State Bureau of Investigation have had eight firearms stolen, including two assault-style rifles.

Half were later recovered. But two handguns, a shotgun and one of the assault-style rifles are still missing.

Messages seeking comment from Attorney General Roy Cooper, who supervises the SBI, were not returned Friday.

An interview request to SBI Director Robin Pendergraft was referred to Erik Hooks, the agency's assistant director charged with overseeing cases involving the theft or misuse of state property.

Hooks said the agency hopes the missing firearms will be recovered. The serial numbers have been entered into a national database of stolen guns reviewed by police who seize weapons.

"Any time you have a weapon stolen, whether it's from the state or a private citizen, it's a concern," he said. "The reality is that our agents live and work in communities all across North Carolina. And, unfortunately, just because they're law enforcement officers doesn't make them immune from being victims of crime."

Hooks said the agency is now reviewing ways to better secure its firearms to prevent theft. The SBI does not issue gun locks to all of its 360 armed agents, he said.

Bill Chandler, director of N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement, retired last month shortly after articles in The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer reported that ALE is missing two assault-style rifles.

The Colt AR-15's stolen from the SBI are a semiautomatic version of the M-16, the primary rifle used by the U.S. military since the Vietnam War. The unrecovered AR-15 was stolen from SBI Special Agent Kevin D. Canty in November 2006. Canty drove a state-owned Chevrolet Monte Carlo to a cookout at a football game in Charlotte between N.C. A&T State University and South Carolina State. Though he was "on call" at the time, it is not clear from Canty's written report what, if any, official capacity he was serving.

When he returned to his car, Canty found that the trunk of his car was open. Missing were his SBI-issued Colt AR-15, a Sig Sauer .45-caliber pistol, a black bulletproof vest with "SBI AGENT" and "POLICE" written on it, state credit cards, a digital camera and a bag containing clips and extra ammunition for both weapons.

Agents whose firearms are stolen face disciplinary action only if they are found to have been negligent in some way, Hooks said.

In the most recent theft, Special Agent Steve Zawistowski of Jacksonville reported on June 15 that a Sig Sauer .40-caliber handgun was missing. It is not clear whether Zawistowski's car was locked when the $700 pistol was taken, but a written report indicates the weapon may have been missing for days before the agent noticed.

Though Zawistowski was due to retire two weeks later, he was issued a new weapon in honor of "his many years of dedicated service to the bureau," according to a letter in the case file.

When he left the agency June 30, Zawistowski was allowed to purchase that new pistol for $1, as state policy allows, Hooks said.

His old weapon has not been recovered.

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