Ex-Texas Deputies Plead Guilty To Stealing Guns From Evidence Room

DALLAS (AP) — Two former North Texas deputies face up to 10-year prison terms after pleading guilty to stealing confiscated guns and pawning the weapons or selling them online.

Federal prosecutors in Dallas on Monday said about 40 guns stolen from an Ellis County Sheriff's Office evidence room were meant to be destroyed.

Former Lt. Philip Gary Slaughter, who supervised the evidence, and ex-Deputy Thomas Glen Smith pleaded guilty, in separate plea deals since July, to possession or sale of stolen firearms. Both await sentencing.

Records show Slaughter in 2015 obtained a court order to destroy hundreds of firearms. Some turned up at a pawn shop.

Officials say Slaughter resigned in March 2016 before being arrested. Smith was with the Lampasas County Sheriff's Office when he was arrested in May 2016 and resigned.

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