Where's the evidence?

FREMONT — As many as four rifles and a machete look to be missing from an evidence room at the Sandusky County courthouse, and there's no explanation for why they disappeared. Court administrator Brock Kimmet told the Register there is no paper trail that shows what happened to the missing evidence. "The court along with the clerk of courts office has (searched for) any orders (that) exist authorizing the removal of items from the third-floor evidence room during the time frame in question and have found that none exist," Kimmet told the Register in an email Thursday. Kimmet provided no further explanation, however, and he did not answer questions about whether there's an existing inventory of the evidence that's still there or if an inventory has been conducted since the discovery that items were likely removed. Kimmet also declined to say who had access to the evidence room. The Register learned about the room after receiving a disc containing photos. An unsigned, typed letter with the disc stated the photos were taken in 2016 by members of a work crew contracted to renovate the courthouse. The letter writer said he and other workers had access to the room at that time. The Register contacted both Sheriff Chris Hilton and Kimmet on Tuesday and later met with them inside the evidence room. The photos appear authentic, reflecting the characteristics of the room and the contents that remain there. Hilton and Kimmet both said the remaining evidence in the room is from older court cases. It's not uncommon for courts to have evidence rooms, according to sources who spoke with the Register, and the evidence in the third-floor room is the property of the court, not any law enforcement agency. It unclear if the court ever maintained an inventory of the room's contents. Kimmet, who manages a separate evidence room out of his office along with the third-floor evidence room, asserted that the court always produces evidence when called upon. "We've never not been able to produce evidence," Kimmet said. But, at least for the time being, Kimmet cannot locate the missing evidence, or any court record ordering it to be disposed or otherwise removed from the room. The Register made a public records request to Kimmet on Saturday asking for any evidence room inventories that exist. Hilton told the Register on Friday that the third-floor evidence room was slated to be used as a law library when the courthouse renovation was planned. The plan changed, however, and the law library was relocated to the courthouse basement. Kimmet told him attorneys still had access to a master key for the room after the law library was relocated. "Anyone who had a key to the to the law library had access to that room. That would be all the attorneys," Hilton said. "The fact the locks were never changed is accidental." Hilton said courthouse deputies previously had a key to the room, but he asked Kimmet to change that since deputies have no authority over the evidence and no need to access it. Kimmet said he planned to padlock the door and only he would have access. Kimmet declined to say what, if any, action the court would take to track down the missing guns, machete and other items. Hilton said he does not know what happened to the weapons, and it's up to the court to review its inventories of evidence and decide how to proceed. The court has not asked the sheriff's office for assistance, he said. Reach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegister