Earlier this week, the Gibson County Sheriff's Office was able to find evidence debunking accusations that they had lost evidence linked to a 2013 investigation.
A former special deputy’s wife had been the victim of a crime which involved her firearms, and they were put in evidence in 2013.
Recently, the former deputy shared his accusation against Sheriff Bruce Vanoven and the department on social media. The sheriff’s office responded online, and investigated the status of the guns.
Vanoven said the guns were not located in county evidence.
“What was missing, in fact, was the documentation that it had been released,” he said. “And then I've been told in other professions, ‘if it's not in writing, it never happened.’ So therefore, whenever these allegations came, I had to look at it, were these guns stolen? Were they destroyed, or had they been released? And up till two nights ago, we didn't know.”
Lacking normal documentation, the evidence clerk did a deep dive and found a receipt with the owner’s signature. The guns were released back in 2014. One was even pawned.
The deputy making the accusation had been fired in 2025 for lying during an internal investigation. Vanoven did not rule out criminal charges or civil litigation against the accuser, as the investigation continues.
He said the next step is rebuilding trust in their “brand” after the accusations grew online.
“Our brand is done through intentional actions, and intentional interactions,” he said.
Vanoven held a news conference on Thursday, to share updates in the case.