Matthew Santoni, The Examiner
2008-03-19 07:00:00.0
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BALTIMORE -

High-powered weapons far exceeded other guns seized in Harford over the past few months, alarming the county sheriff’s office.

Since Dec. 1, 2007, members of the office’s Gang Suppression Unit and the Community Action Response Team have seized seven illegal handguns; seven shotguns, including one sawed-off shotgun; two pieces of body armor; and 14 rifles or assault rifles — a mix of AR-15 rifles, AK-47s and other rifles, said Monica Worrell, a Harford Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.

Sheriff Jesse Bane said the number of high-powered weapons seized could signal more escalation of firepower and violence in the county.

“My deputies aren’t armed to deal with that kind of firepower,” Bane said.

Members of the Sheriff’s Special Response Team occasionally carry assault weapons. But Bane said he didn’t want to see the weapons become standard issue for deputies.

“You wrestle with the fact that criminals have access to assault weapons,” he said. “I don’t want deputies walking the streets, having to carry assault weapons. ... It doesn’t send a good message.”

Bane said he is organizing a unit to focus on investigating and prosecuting violent, street-level offenders and seizing illegal guns. The unit has only two deputies, but might expand based on recommendations of the sergeant in charge, Bane said.

The new team, tentatively named the Violent Street Crimes Unit, might also work with a Baltimore metro-area gun task force led by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Earlier this month, two alleged gang members were indicted on charges of using an AK-47 on Dec. 30 in the attempted murder of three men in Edgewood.

Bane has pointed to that incident and subsequent gun seizures as indicators of the increasing severity of gun violence in Harford.

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com