Six months after ATF raid, Muncie official's 650 firearms remain in legal limbo

MUNCIE, Ind. — In the wake of conducting what appeared to be a large-scale raid at the home of a Muncie Sanitary District official in February, federal agents declined to say why they were at the Monroe Township property or what they might have seized.

Court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis in recent weeks, however, have detailed why agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the property of Stephen D. Brand, president of the Muncie Sanitary District Board, on Feb. 22.

The ATF agents "seized approximately 650 firearms and assorted ammunition" from Brand's property along Delaware County Road 200-W, south of Muncie, according to documents filed by U.S. Attorney Zachary Myers' office.

ATF agents that day were observed on the property — consisting of a house and outbuildings — loading items into a U-Haul box truck.

Outside the home on the day of the raid, a U.S. flag was hanging upside down from a pole in the front yard,

According to a motion filed by federal prosecutors on Aug. 15, a search warrant leading to the February raid suggested there was probable cause to believe the guns seized were connected to violations of federal law concerning "dealing in firearms without a license."

After more than six months, however, no criminal charges stemming from the Delaware County raid have been filed, and Myers' office has yet to formally seek a forfeiture of the firearms and ammunition.

On May 24, an attorney for Brand — and two members of his family, Stuart and Owen Brand — filed an administration claim seeking return of nearly all of the items taken from their property.

That would normally have required federal prosecutors to take action — or release the guns and ammunition — within six months of the raid.

In the Aug. 15 filing in U.S. District Court, however, Myers and his staff asked for a 90-day extension, until Nov. 21, on a deadline for the federal government to pursue a forfeiture complaint targeting the guns and ammunition, or to file a related indictment.

"The United States is still gathering information about this matter to determine the appropriate course of action," federal prosecutors wrote.

M. Kendra Klump, a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, took Myers' request under advisement, and gave attorneys for the Brands until Sept. 5 to respond.

Last week, the Delaware County family's lawyer, K. Michael Gaerte of Indianapolis, in a motion wrote that federal authorities "knew full well when (they) executed the search warrant in this matter the applicable statutory authority, the timing period required and consequences for failing to properly investigate prior to executing a search warrant, yet (they) chose to proceed."

Gaerte said his clients "certainly want to afford the government an adequate opportunity to fully investigate this matter," but did not want to be "in a position where a lack of objection at this stage may be seen as a waive of an objection in the future."

He suggested the Brands had been placed "in the precarious position of potentially being seen to attempt to 'force' the government's hand towards a forfeiture complaint or criminal indictment when (they) have no desire to do so."

Gaerte also expressed concern about the seized property, suggesting his clients'' guns and ammunition could degrade "over time if not properly transported, stored and maintained."

As of Thursday, a ruling had apparently not yet been made on the U.S. Attorney's request for 90 more days to make decisions on how the case might be resolved.

Brand, appointed to the MSD board by Mayor Dan Ridenour, is also general manager of Muncie's MAGNA Powertrain plant.

In late February, Ridenour's administration posted on the city's Facebook account that the ATF raid "was not connected with city business in any way."

"At this time, no formal charges have been leveled, but the investigation is of individual activities," that post added.

More: City: ATF raid tied to 'individual activities'

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Six months after ATF raid, Muncie man's 650 guns remain in legal limbo