WATERLOO - Before it was used to snuff two lives in a drug robbery, Glock No. BFM086 helped protect residents of Black Hawk County.

The .40-caliber handgun legally went from the hip of a sheriff's deputy to private ownership as part of a program that allows officers to buy their department-owned service weapons when replaced with new sidearms.

Within two years, the Glock entered the underground during a home burglary. It surfaced Nov. 2, 2007, as the tool Martaves Keys used to kill Anissa "Peanut" Schroeder, 18, and Ronald "Junior" Scullark, 28, as they drove and rode in a Chevrolet Suburban.

Another pistol seized as a result of the double homicide in November 2007- a Stallard Arms Maverick - also has a history. Investigators found the Maverick loaded with five rounds, but out of reach in the SUV's glove box in front of the seat where Scullark drew his last breath.

Glocks are made in Austria and sold in the United States by a company in Georgia. The polymer-framed guns are among the more popular pistols for law enforcement agencies because of their reliability and easy-to-use design.

The 9 mm Mavericks, made by an Ohio company, are no longer on the market, though a similar design is sold by Hi Point, according to the Blue Book of Gun Values. The origins of this particular Maverick are unclear, but investigators later determined it had been fired in a Waterloo neighborhood months before the double slaying.

On July 12, 2007, police responded to three fights in the 300 block of Reed Street. Witnesses reported two gunshots during the final skirmish, and the following day a resident found a spent 9 mm shell casing on a sidewalk in front of the house.

The bullet struck no one, and police developed no suspects. Crime lab workers entered the marks on the casing into a ballistics database.

When investigators finally found the Maverick in the Suburban's glove compartment, part of the handle was missing. Experts at the state crime lab noted the ejector claw was also missing, creating the likelihood the weapon would jam after its first shot.

The Glock had been carried by Deputy Tammy Bird for a number of years until the sheriff's office updated its arsenal in 2006. As part of the business, law enforcement agencies can return used service pistols to the company for credit toward the purchase of new handguns.

"It's basically you take it like a trade-in," Scott Lake, a Waterloo police investigator who traced the guns in the murder case, testified in court.

As an alternative, the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office and the Waterloo Police Department allow officers to buy the guns they carried on duty. The officer keeps the weapon as private property, but the agency gets the trade-in value of the firearm, Lake said.

Bird already owned a private pistol purchased through an earlier exchange in the 1990s, so another deputy, Matthew Harris, who has a federal license to sell firearms, bought BFM086 from the sheriff's office. He also bought 12 other Glocks from the sheriff's office during the rearming, Lake said.

Two ammo clips and a plastic box with the serial numbers went with each weapon.

Harris, with the gun dealers license, sold BFM086 to Evansdale police officer Kelly VanDyke, who then loaned the pistol to his brother-in-law, Larry Hoffer, who was a Waterloo resident, Lake testified.

Nothing about how the handgun changed hands was improper.

At least not until May 2007, when Hoffer's home was burglarized, and the Glock was swiped along with 350 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition.

VanDyke's 17-year-old son, Tyler, was soon developed as a suspect, and he was charged with second-degree burglary and trafficking stolen weapons in adult court, according to the police report.

Court records state the Tyler VanDyke admitted to police he took the gun and bullets and sold them "on the street."

The teen ultimately pleaded guilty to the charges and was granted a deferred judgment and placed on two to five years of probation.

Meanwhile, a mix-up kept the Glock out of law enforcement databases that track stolen property.

When Bird, who first carried the gun, turned it in, she accidently put it in the plastic box that went with her other pistol. So when it was reported stolen, the Hoffer gave police the serial number that was on the box, Lake said.

On the burglary report, Glock BFM086 was listed as AKP642.

Six months after the burglary, Martaves Keys met up with Scullark and Schroeder as Scullark planned to sell a few pounds of marijuana, according to testimony in court.

They climbed into the sport utility vehicle, with Keys sitting the back, according to prosecutors.

Investigators who studied the wounds and blood trail left by the moving Suburban believe Scullark, sitting in the passenger's seat, was shot first as the vehicle headed north on Cedar Bend Street, the bullet leaving his head, piercing the windshield and disappearing.

Schroeder, who was behind the wheel, turned on to West Donald Street and drove a short distance before she was killed. A wound to her hand told detectives she knew the shot was coming and tried to protect herself.

After killing Schroeder, the bullet shattered the driver's side window and lodged in a nearby garage.

Less than a week later after the shooting, Keys' girlfriend led police to Seven Bridges Park, a wooded area with a campground between Readlyn and Dunkerton where the Glock had been tossed into the Wapsipinicon River and Keys' bloody clothes had been burned.

Steve Weliver, a member of the Cedar Valley Underwater Rescue Unit, was the second diver to wade into the river in search of the weapon.

In the 8-foot center channel Weliver struggled against the current and changing light.

"I had probably about a foot of visibility because of the darkness," he said.

As he shifted to change the direction of his sweep, the current began to pull him downstream, and he lost control of his position.

"I saw a shape coming up … and it appeared to be a pistol. I just reached out and grabbed it and happened to get it," Weliver said.

"You don't know if it's cocked or has a bullet in the chamber, so I was just trying not to hug it to my chest or manipulate it too much," he said.

Using an underwater intercom, Weliver told those on land what he found, and they reeled him in.

The serial number at some point had been scratched off of the Glock's dust cover - the surface in front of the trigger guard - to prevent tracing efforts. But identifying the weapon wasn't difficult because the same serial number was on the slide, and it was untouched. The sheriff's office seal on the front of the slide was also untouched.

Keys was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths and sentenced to life in prison.

The two handguns are kept in an evidence storage area and will likely be retained in case of an appeal.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.By JEFF REINITZ

Courier Staff WriterWATERLOO - Citing cutbacks in state funding and increased case loads, magistrates in Black Hawk County have dropped free courthouse weddings from their duties.

The decision came weeks ago as the state judicial branch mandated furloughs to curtail spending. Though magistrates, who work part-time, weren't furloughed, court staffers were given a number of Fridays off without pay, closing courthouses.

That meant magistrates had to shoehorn cases into the remaining four days of the week.

"Our schedules, because of the Fridays, have been cut. So all the cases we had on Fridays are now being transferred to other days during the week," Magistrate Dawn Newcomb said.

"Something had to go," she said.

To deal with the crunch, magistrates in Black Hawk County decided to do away with the courthouse weddings, which they offered free as a public service. The free weddings started out on Fridays but later switched to 11 a.m. Wednesdays, with three booked each Wednesday.

"We basically did them as a favor … Even then, if we were still in court, the people had to wait," Newcomb said.

Court officials said the decision had nothing to do with a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling that will take effect Monday allowing same-sex marriage.

The magistrates will continue to offer weddings outside the courthouse, which are performed on their personal time and cost $200. In the past, such weddings officiated by magistrates have taken place in homes, parks and restaurants, Newcomb said.

Ceremonies can be booked by calling the courthouse.

Newcomb said Black Hawk County magistrates aren't turning away same-sex couples for weddings.

"We're still happy to do weddings. Everyone is to be treated ethically, too. We have an ethical obligation to treat everyone according to the law fairly," she said.

The decision to axe the free courthouse weddings was only for Black Hawk County magistrates. Some surrounding counties will continue courthouse weddings.

Staff writer Josh Nelson contributed to this report. Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.