HPD auction sells lots of evidence

By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer

Many things odd and unusual were the main attraction yesterday at the Honolulu Police Department Property Auction behind the main station in Honolulu. One hundred and one lots of things, to be exact. Lots of amplifiers and bowling balls, lots of gas masks and wet suits.

Auctioneer Mark Glen presides over the HPD Property Auction behind the main station in Honolulu. Items snapped up by bidders yesterday included golf clubs, a boogie board and a crossbow. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

"These are things and materials recovered at crime scenes," said Sgt. Andrew Castro, Evidence Unit supervisor, who heads up the two such police property auctions a year.

"The investigations are over. All these items have been cleared. And we were unable to locate the owner. By law we have to auction anything that's unclaimed, and the money is then turned over to the city."

Such auctions (HPD also holds two bike auctions a year) add about $7,000 to $10,000 to the city's coffers, Castro said.

The process is necessary to make room for a never-ending parade of criminal evidence that arrives at the evidence room, some of it destined to end up at a property auction of it's own one day.

"As fast as we clear it, we get new stuff," Castro said. "Items that didn't make it here today were those that are still pending trial. Firearms and things of that nature never come up for auction."

Items that do come up delight the winning bidders, although the cover of the auction catalogue clearly urges, "Please use caution when bidding."

Lee Finn of Kailua had used caution at HPD auctions before. He was one of about 200 bidders who showed up. But yesterday he took along a first-timer — his son, Jason.

"Let me ask you something," Auctioneer Mark Glen asked Jason after the 15-year-old had made the winning bid on some swimming equipment. "Is this your first auction?

The teenager nodded.

"I could see it in your eyes," Glen said.

The younger Finn didn't even try to hide his pleasure.

"I got a surfboard, a boogie board and fins for $25," he said. "That's a great price. Yeah, I'll be coming back to these."

Peter Gellatly of Manoa was equally delighted with the set of golf clubs he picked up for a friend for $125. "I am very lucky," he said. "The bag itself is worth $125. So the clubs are free."

A few of those present remained untempted.

"My wife has been on me to get rid of the junk I already have," said HPD Maj. Tim Slovak as he watched from the sidelines. "What I need to do is have one of these auctions at my own house."

For the auctioneer, who has handled dozens of HPD evidence sales in the past decade, yesterday's excitement was all in a day's work. One bidder's new-found treasure equals so much fleet-tongued verbiage to the fast-talking Glen.

The stuff he's into comes in the form of his cut of the proceeds, says Glen, who is one of the few auctioneers around who has an MBA. How does he overcome the temptation to bid on some items himself?

"I'm a monk," said Glen, who'd rather be a stuff mover than a stuff saver. "At least that's how I live."

After 15 years behind the auction gavel he says he's still fascinated by the process. Life for him is one odd item after another. He's handled so many offbeat items that he can't begin to say what's the weirdest thing he ever held up for bid. Still, the crossbow that brought $125 yesterday qualified as one of the more unusual.

As for the auctioneer profession, Glen says it's the highest form of salesmanship and the lowest form of showmanship. He's hooked.

"It's a ball," said Glen, before taking off for the second of three auctions he would preside over before the sun went down.