Hurricane police department employee accused of selling evidence

An employee of the Hurricane Police Department was arrested for allegedly selling police evidence through his daughter’s online store.

Kurt Tanner, an evidence technician, was charged Monday in 5th District Court with one count of third-degree felony misuse of public money because the revenue from the sale wasn’t returned to the city, as is normally done when police evidence is sold or auctioned off. 

Tanner, 54, of St. George, is accused of giving the evidence to a company owned by his daughter to be sold on eBay last September, charging documents state. But rather than returning the money from the sale to the city, the online store allegedly pocketed it, charges state.  

The evidence that was sold was not contraband, and was ”several years old,” according to Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap. No charges are pending against the man’s daughter, Belnap said. 

Tanner has handled evidence for the department for the past 10 years, according to Hurricane City police spokeswoman Tiffany Mower. He is now on paid administrative leave.

Tanner is set for an initial court appearance on Sept. 19. The crime is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Once a criminal case has ended, evidence is released to the owner, who has 90 days to claim it, confirmed Mower. If the evidence isn’t picked up, it is auctioned or given to an approved company to sell, and the money goes into the city coffers.