Missing property

Read part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

Joseph and Kera Turner, who escaped the Dixie Fire in August of 2021, were sent to jail in Washoe County after being ordered to evacuate their California property and after they temporarily moved to Reno. Five days after they fled the fire, the Turners were arrested in the North Valleys for possessing stolen property—a truck and trailer they used to evacuate. 

Most of the Turners’ property was in the trailer: family heirlooms, medications, medical devices, cash, tactical gear and a lot of guns and ammunition. They still don’t have most of their belongings back.

“It’s not just guns and ammo missing, either. It’s our entire life we evacuated with,” Kera said. “ALL of our children’s clothes, books, keepsakes. My wedding sets. Tons of my jewelry. Survival gear. Food. So, so much. My laptop with important documents and pictures I don’t have backed up anywhere else. Satellite phones we are still paying the bill on.”

As documented on bodycam footage, a deputy said, “That trailer is going to take hours to inventory” just before WCSO deputies arrested the Turners. Deputies had already broken into the trailer and inspected its contents when that comment was made. 

Despite multiple requests, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office could not provide evidence of conducting a thorough inventory of the trailer. Public records obtained by This Is Reno show only a small number of items were entered into evidence. WCSO evidence tags are required for the confiscated property, according to WCSO policies, but sheriff records only show a small fraction of what the Turners said was taken from them. They put the value of their missing property at more than $100,000. 

“We have several (30-ish) guns, a large amount of ammunition, as well as numerous high capacity magazines in evidence.”

Sheriff’s officials said the trailer’s contents were returned to the trailer’s original owner.

“The stolen property and its contents were returned to the registered owner, excluding the items that had been removed during impound for safe keeping,” WCSO’s Leslie Masterpool said in July. She did not respond to a question asking why most of the Turners’ property was not logged into evidence. 

“The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office continues to work diligently to return Mr. Turner’s property, though he has declined to complete the necessary steps to transfer the firearms back into his possession and has now become unresponsive,” Masterpool added. “At this time, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office awaits Mr. Turner’s response to collect the property that had proof of his ownership. He has received information about how to do so and filing a risk management claim with Washoe County should he believe property is missing, for which he would need to supply an inventory of the missing items contained within the vehicles.”

That’s impossible, the Turners said. They had to evacuate quickly, throwing as many possessions into the truck and trailer as possible. There was no way to determine what was packed during the evacuation. Joseph also insists that WCSO’s requirements for obtaining his property are unconstitutional and that his pleading for the return of their property should be sufficient. 

“I have stated multiple times that the forms cannot be completed without information from inventories, and that information is intentionally withheld from me, which intentionally deprives my wife and (me) of our property and violates our civil rights,” he wrote in an email to sheriff’s office officials.

One form the sheriff’s office wants the Turners to complete states that a criminal case has to be adjudicated before firearms can be released, but that’s if the guns were used to commit a crime. The form later indicates any firearm in WCSO’s custody has to be requested using that form: “It is the responsibility of the court or a law enforcement agency with custody or control of the firearm to verify that the applicant is the lawful owner or possessor of the firearm.”

“We have several (30-ish) guns, a large amount of ammunition, as well as numerous high capacity magazines in evidence,” WCSO’s Bryan Samudio told This Is Reno a year ago. “Some of the guns or magazines might not be legal in the state of California, and Mr. Turner is a resident of California, and we are checking with the ATF on how to properly return the guns to a California resident.”

WCSO officials reiterated they can only release what property they have once the Turners fill out paperwork.

“This is unacceptable and an admission of stealing a person’s property because of the type of property,” Joseph wrote in an email to WCSO. “I am dumbfounded at the posture taken by law enforcement on this matter. The charges against us were dismissed. Our property has never been evidence, and it has been (unlawfully) detained and retained against us.”

Barry Cooper, a former law enforcement officer, who retired and became an activist against police misconduct, accused WCSO of stealing the Turners’ property. He said their failure to return it is illegal. The Turners solicited Cooper’s help after their arrest. He is a consultant to those accused of crimes and a criminal defense expert witness. 

“Police know that citizens rarely attempt to recover property that has been seized as evidence because the level of difficulty to have their property returned is so high,” Cooper said. “It is much easier for police to steal property labeled as evidence versus property taken under asset forfeiture because the latter must be returned within 30 to 60 days unless the government files a mandatory lawsuit to keep the property.”

Read part six tomorrow: “This Is Reno sues the sheriff’s office.” Subscribe to read the seven-part series.