Section 17-5-52. Sale or destruction of weapons used in commission of crime or delinquent act involving possession; sale of weapons not the property of the defendant; disposition of proceeds of sale; record keeping

   (a) When a final judgment is entered finding a defendant guilty of the commission or attempted commission of a crime against any person or guilty of the commission of a crime or delinquent act involving the illegal possession or carrying of a weapon, any device which was used as a weapon in the commission of the crime or delinquent act shall be turned over by the person having custody of the weapon or device to the sheriff, chief of police, or other executive officer of the law enforcement agency that originally confiscated the weapon or device when the weapon or device is no longer needed for evidentiary purposes. With the exception of firearms, as such term is defined in Code Section 17-5-51, which shall be disposed of in accordance with Code Section 17-5-52.1, within 90 days after receiving the weapon or device, the sheriff, chief of police, or other executive officer of the law enforcement agency shall retain the weapon or device for use in law enforcement, destroy the same, or sell the weapon or device pursuant to judicial sale as provided in Article 7 of Chapter 13 of Title 9 or by any commercially feasible means, provided that if the weapon or device used as a weapon in the crime is not the property of the defendant, there shall be no forfeiture of such weapon or device.

(b) The proceeds derived from all sales of such weapons or devices, after deducting the costs of the advertising and the sale, shall be turned in to the treasury of the county or the municipal corporation that sold the weapon or device. The proceeds derived from the sale of such weapons or devices confiscated by a state law enforcement agency shall be paid into the state treasury.

(c) Any law enforcement agency that retains, destroys, or sells any weapon or device pursuant to this Code section shall maintain records that include an accurate description of each weapon or device along with records of whether each weapon or device was retained, sold, or destroyed.

Ga. L. 1967, p. 749, § 3; Ga. L. 1976, p. 167, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 963, § 2; Ga. L. 2008, p. 344, § 1/HB 333; Ga. L. 2012, p. 1285, § 3/SB 350.