Friend Of A Friend "Found" A Gun, Asked What To Do
nunn
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Do any of you have anything to add:
This is what I sent him via email:
The chances of finding an owner are very slim. There is no central national registry for firearms. Some states and cities may have them. If yours is one, you have more of a chance at finding an owner.
The ATF can do a trace from the factory down the line to the last known owner, who may or may not be the current owner. Doubtful you can get a trace run unless you find a VERY friendly agent.
Is it stolen? Who knows? It may not be, or it may be. Maybe your friend has a friend who is a police officer. He can run it through NCIC and see if it’s there. If it is there, it’s stolen and the officer will have to seize it.
No police officer, friend or not, will run the gun through NCIC unless he has it in hand. If it’s clear, will he give it back? Who knows? That’s why I suggest using a friendly officer. State laws, local ordinances, and PD procedures vary from place to place.
If it’s not there, it still could be stolen. Lots of guns are stolen and not reported. Lots of guns are reported stolen but the owner doesn’t have the serial number, so it doesn’t go into the database..
If I were to have it in hand, I probably could get it checked for stolen. If it is clear, or if the police would not run it, I might decide to just keep it, or sell it.
Good luck to your friend.
nunn
Comments
Sounds like solid advice -
All police departments have a NCIC terminal in their offices.
The problem is finding a person that is willing to run the query because they would have to sign on the terminal and have a case number.
Just running the serial number is not so simple anymore.
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain
Maybe it has been used in a crime. A few old murder cases have been solved because someone found a gun.
I read about a guy who found an old H&R 923 .22 snub nose while mowing his lawn in Ca. and it solved a double police officer murder from 1958. The guy got away with it for over 40 years. I had to look it up to refresh my memory. Google Gerald Mason, cop killer.
But of course they can do with it what they want. If the cops are involved they usually don't get it back.
I'm trying to imagine a scenario where I would tell anyone.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
I'm trying to imagine a scenario where I would not call the police, no telling what kind of bad JuJu may be attached to that gun, certainly not worth having to prove somewhere down the line that you DIDN"T commit the murder this gun was used in, it probably wasn't but hey, me personally, I've got lots of guns and don't need a possible headache.
Plus I think that kannoneer's post has merit .............. better to be a hero than a suspect.
Now cash would be a completely different ball game ............................ 😉
Should he turn the gun in and it was in fact used in a crime, there's a fine line between hero and suspect right then and there. Gonna be a load of questions and he's gonna have to lawyer up just to be safe.
I'll echo Mr. Perfect's position: I wouldn't offer any info because no one needs to know.
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
I would just turn it into the PD and walk away. I wouldn't want anything to do with it. Not worth getting caught up in something, I don't want to be in. You really didn't give much of a background story. Did he find it in the streets, a basement of a house he owns, a park or what???. I only found one gun, an old beat up piece of junk, single shot shotgun, in a wall of an old house we were working on. The builder told me to get rid of it. I cut it apart and threw it in his dumpster. The thing was solid rust and worthless.
Was it found near a boat ramp?! It MIGHT be one of mine, lost em all in a boating accident! Just sayin'
Hmmm. So, you find a gun, pick it up, and now your DNA and/or prints are all over something you think may have been used in a crime. And you're going to just drop it off at a police station?
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Yes
It is found property. Should/could be treated as any other found property. In cases around here, if the property hasnt been reported stolen and no one claims it after a public announcement, the finder gets it back and becomes the owner.
A case number will be assigned. Appropriate NCIC queries will be done and perhaps an ATF search initiated.
In Florida, the FDLE (Fl. Dept. of Law Enforcement) has a web site that you can enter a serial number and it will tell you if the gun has been reported stolen.
"I read about a guy who found an old H&R 923 .22 snub nose while mowing his lawn in Ca. and it solved a double police officer murder from 1958. The guy got away with it for over 40 years. I had to look it up to refresh my memory. Google Gerald Mason, cop killer."
I remember that case. Without looking it up, he was from down here in Dixie, maybe S. Carolina, he travelled out to California and got in the middle of a police stop, and he shot 2 cops. One cop fired back, I think he put a bullet through the trunk, and into Psycho Boy's back. But he got away and went back to live a normal life until someone found that pistol.
Seems cops find guns all the time and no one owns up 😁
I was going to give them your name. LOL. Hi, I'm Mr. P and here is this gun I found. . I have no worries as, I have never committed a crime, and can verify my whereabouts at any time. I know what your saying though.
Never committed a crime? You sure about that?
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
^^^^^^ That there sure diminishes much of the FREEDOM we once had. 😲
To quote an old Janis Joplin song........."Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.......😔
None that I am admitting to ,anyway.😁. Well there Was this one time.....................🤫
Hmm...
Let's say I'm out on a walk with my dogs and happen across a firearm. I take a look. Yep. It's a firearm alright.
Now what?
Seeing how I live in a crowded neighborhood, if I pick it up and take it, someone's doorbell camera has probably recorded the event. Not good.
I think, in the case above, I might actually call the police and tell them about the stray firearm. Especially if it was a Glock. But only after the dogs peed on it.
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲