JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office held an auction downtown Thursday where people could buy some high-end items.
Bidders had the chance to place bids on cars, jewelry and other items forfeited to JSO.
"Some start with a minimum bid. Some vehicles will have higher minimum bids because they're higher-end vehicles," said Lt. Raymond Beltz. "We do have four pieces of jewelry that are worth between $5,000, $10,000, $15,000."
The auction was held at Metropolitan Park in parking lot F. It's something JSO puts on three to four times a year and is open to the public.
"We go through a forfeiture process, and once they're awarded to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, we come to the auction, we take the money and the proceeds go into two different funds," Beltz said.
Those two funds are a law enforcement fund and a confidential vehicle fund.
"For the vehicle confidential fund that's obviously to fix our vehicles, but the other fund is money the sheriff has the discretion of using and I believe 15 percent of that every year is given towards charities," Beltz said.
Hundreds of people always show up to check out what's on the auction block. This time around, there were about 30 cars, trucks, SUVs and motorcycles plus some jewelry.
"Some start with a minimum bid, some vehicles will have higher minimum bids because they're higher-end vehicles, like we do have four pieces of jewelry that are worth between $5,000 $10,000 $15,000," Beltz said.
A 32-inch, 14-karat heavy Cuban link chain is one of the items up for auction. JSO says it appraised at nearly $30,000. The minimum bid on it Thursday morning was $10,000.
There was a lot of hype with the last auction because a Lamborghini was up for sale. There's no Lamborghini this time, but the Sheriff's Office invited people to go check the items out, even if you're not interested in bidding this go around.
"There's still some good vehicles, there's a BMW, a very nice Harley Davidson and almost a brand new Yamaha speed bike," Beltz said.
Many people went to bid on a new car.
"Well, you can save some money," Ross Weeks said. "There's some upsides and some downsides. You get what you pay for and once you drive it out of here it's yours, so if it works well you're OK. If there's a problem with the vehicles, you'll have some problems, too."
Natasha Ford currently drives a min-van but was looking for a sedan-style car to save on gas money. She found a Dodge and an Acura she liked.
"Of course, you're looking at lower prices," Ford said. "Of course, they are as is and there's no warranty, but that's where a little bit of know-how comes into play."
Some people were just
to look and see if they found a good deal. Others were on a mission to take one home Thursday.
"My son actually found the auction, and like I said, necessity is driving me," Anthony Daniel said. "He starts school on Monday and we have to put him in a car."
Click here for a list of items that will be auctioned off Thursday morning.
If you make the winning bid, you have to put down a $100 cash deposit and then pay for the item in full by 2 p.m. with cash or a cashier's check.
The Sheriff's Office will have another auction in February.