Helper stole a gun, need advice

What is my correct moral action?

  • Discuss it and give her a chance to return it

    Votes: 71 31.8%

  • Go to the police immediately

    Votes: 151 67.7%

  • Get her university and parents involved

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Pretend you are not on to her, and try to teach some moral compass.

    Votes: 1 0.4%
  • Total voters
    223
  • Poll closed .
Status
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klover

klover

Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2004
Messages
675
Location
North central Idaho
I have been hiring student help for the past 19 years.
A very charming and intelligent young lady expressed interest in diving and shooting sports.
I decided to do what I could to help her learn more about my two favorite activities.

Normally all firearms are secure from all visitors, but I did show her some she might
like to try. She has had some shooting experience learning from her dad, and is thrilled at the prospect of learning more.

I discovered recently that the PD 351 #CMA 170_ is missing. The holster for it is still
here because I store it apart, along with some ammo for it. I rarely take this gun out of the house because I always carry at least above .380, and almost never this mouse.

She does not believe I am on to her. She is scheduled to work for me within a day or two.

I want to give her every chance in the world to be as we are, and I would not
want to have her ruin her future ability to defend herself for a mistake at age 21.
I believe many of us here could have succumb to temptation at that age, and are
now on the straight and narrow moral compass.

What should I do?
 
Report the missing gun to the police, or you may be in violation of the law. How do you steal a gun by mistake?
 
Just my opinion but.......It's not a cd player or a tv. If it is sold or used, it has the potential to do someone a lot of harm.
The heck with with wanting to give someone a chance when it comes to firearms.

I would make sure I didn't, or somebody in My household didn't misplace it, then I would report the theft to the Police.

YOU are responsible for That Firearm !!!!!!!!
 
Are you sure it was her? If so, are you going to ask her where your gun is?
And if you're sure it was her, how can anything ever be the same, and why have her back for more training or anything else?
 
She's a thief, and now she is armed. Go to the police. Every minute you wait is another opportunity for something bad to happen, something you may have liability for. This is particularly true since you have posted this in a public forum. Imagine a family member in her household having a fatal ND while you waste time wondering how to protect her future. Now imagine the investigation into the gun discovering your post. You see where this is headed? You have a legal obligation to report a crime, particularly one where lives could be in danger based on either her intent or her ignorance regarding safe storage and handling of that weapon.
 
klover said:
I have been hiring student help for the past 19 years.
A very charming and intelligent young lady expressed interest in diving and shooting sports.
I decided to do what I could to help her learn more about my two favorite activities.

Normally all firearms are secure from all visitors, but I did show her some she might
like to try. She has had some shooting experience learning from her dad, and is thrilled at the prospect of learning more.

I discovered recently that the PD 351 #CMA 170_ is missing. The holster for it is still
here because I store it apart, along with some ammo for it. I rarely take this gun out of the house because I always carry at least above .380, and almost never this mouse.

She does not believe I am on to her. She is scheduled to work for me within a day or two.

I want to give her every chance in the world to be as we are, and I would not
want to have her ruin her future ability to defend herself for a mistake at age 21.
I believe many of us here could have succumb to temptation at that age, and are
now on the straight and narrow moral compass.

What should I do?
Click to expand...
This all sounds very circumstantial. Could anyone else have possibly had access to the weapon other than her? If it was her, how could she possible think that you wouldn't notice a missing firearm? That doesn't sound like a very "intelligent" young lady to me if she is indeed the culprit. At age 21, if she doesn't know the difference between right and wrong, the Law will teach her very quickly.

As has already been stated on this thread, failure to report a stolen firearm can get you in serious trouble. Please keep this in mind!
 
If we ALL honestly look back at ourselves at 19, 20, 21, etc. I'm sure we all did things we aren't proud of, nor are they reflections of who we are today. It's quite possible that people here who appreciate their freedoms and rights did commit felonies in their stupid youth and they either were never caught, or given a second chance.

We all had mentors and second chances and luck.

I would smartly confront this person and give her the chance to correct it. And then I would no longer associate with her.

If she doesn't take the opportunity, then call the police.

Make sure to have a witness and be armed just in case she turns violent.
 
Report the missing gun to the Police.


If you cannot trust this person, you should terminate her employment. If she is in fact a thief, things will only get worse in time.
 
Make sure to have a witness and be armed just in case she turns violent
Click to expand...

Is that really the position our OP needs to place himself in? I assume he knows she is guilty, else the other guns would have been stolen. This is apparently the one she took a shine too, or at least that is what I am assuming. Confronting an armed thief is a job for the police. If this escalates, and he ultimately defends himself with the weapon you suggest he take to the confrontation, reckon what the police are going to think of him looking for trouble rather than calling them? Have you not been watching the news?
 
You could just have the police there when she shows for work and have them thoroughly question her. Unless you have evidence, she probably won't be charged with anything.

Forget the second chance crap. She's not stealing the gun because she "needs it". Stealing is wrong. It's a firearm, not a toaster; the chance it could be used to do serious damage is huge.
 
If we ALL honestly look back at ourselves at 19, 20, 21, etc. I'm sure we all did things we aren't proud of, nor are they reflections of who we are today. It's quite possible that people here who appreciate their freedoms and rights did commit felonies in their stupid youth and they either were never caught, or given a second chance.

We all had mentors and second chances and luck.

I would smartly confront this person and give her the chance to correct it. And then I would no longer associate with her.
Click to expand...
Decent advice if these were granny's pearls that were missing.
 
Report as stolen to police. You can always go back and tell them you found it if all goes well.
 
leadcounsel said:
If we ALL honestly look back at ourselves at 19, 20, 21, etc. I'm sure we all did things we aren't proud of, nor are they reflections of who we are today. It's quite possible that people here who appreciate their freedoms and rights did commit felonies in their stupid youth and they either were never caught, or given a second chance.

We all had mentors and second chances and luck.

I would smartly confront this person and give her the chance to correct it. And then I would no longer associate with her.

If she doesn't take the opportunity, then call the police.

Make sure to have a witness and be armed just in case she turns violent.
Click to expand...

This is a firearm, not an iPod.

And 21 years old is way beyond the point of "kids will be kids".

Report it to the police. In fact, as mentioned above, you may be violating the law by failing to report a firearm you believe to be stolen.
 
She does not believe I am on to her. She is scheduled to work for me within a day or two.
Click to expand...

No offense intended for the OP, but with all due respect, I believe your acknowledgement that she is "charming and intelligent" has clouded your judgement a bit. I doubt very seriously that you will ever see this young lady again, with each passing minute giving opportunity for YOUR gun to get used, sold, whatever.

I would once again state that you have acknowledged being aware of the missing gun and the likelihood of her being responsible in a PUBLIC FORUM.
 
Report it to the police and let them determine if she stole the gun. If not you could end up in serious trouble if they manage to link that gun to you. Ever been fingerprinted for a job or whatever? Because they could find your prints on the gun somewhere. What if it ends up being a murder weapon? No way I'd let the theft of a gun go. If it had been anything else I might have talked to her about it but a gun? You need a police report if nothing else.
 
In my state I have to report the gun being missing to the police. I'd be wary of making accusations you can not prove.

Let law enforcement handle it.
 
No way I'd let the theft of a gun go. If it had been anything else I might have talked to her about it but a gun? You need a police report if nothing else.
Click to expand...

Ok, I admit I'm getting worked up over this. Part of the reason is the jeopardy the OP has placed himself in. First, we have the issue of HIS gun being in the wind. Now we have a second issue, that being the legal jeopardy the OP has placed himself regarding failure to secure/ failure to report, both of which are crimes in WA. If the OP does not get on the phone to the police, someone reading his post very well may. HE WANTS TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO MAKE THAT CALL.

Dude -- you posted looking for advice. Report this, or you may face the ultimate injustice of her skating and you being charged as outlined above. That would be a terrible outcome.
 
If you are 100% sure it was stolen and she is for sure the one who took it then you should report the gun and her to the police.
 
If you are not 100% sure she is the one that stole it then I would approach this with caution . What harm in telling her the gun is missing and asking her if she has seen it, or if she can shead any light on what might have happened to it, before you have to make out the police report.

If she claims no knowledge, and your pretty sure it was her, than tell the police that when you make out the report and let them follow thru.
 
If you just met this student then you don't know her at all. She may be a thief even though she appears differently. Con men and women are very charming, that is their way of pulling off their craft. If you've kown her for years and/or know her parents then you may look at it a bit different but you are risking your right to keep and bear arms for her benefit.

If you actually saw this gun when you showed her your collection and she is the only one who had access to it then you are probably right in your assumption. If other people know you collect and know where you keep it or you haven't actually seen that particular gun in a while then she may not be the one who stole it but the bottom line is reporting it ASAP and letting the police do their job. This also covers your own backside and your own rights to own firearms. Your own child or a niece or nephew may get some slack and benefit of the doubt but a stranger? What do you really know about her?
 
I'd say confront her immediately and not wait, then call police if she denies it and then in the end if it turns out to be her either way even if she admits it, then you fire her. Done in that order it allows her to make the decision whether she goes to jail on not. Of course this is all assuming she even did it. It all sounds weird.

I hate to be judgemental towards males more but if this was a male worker, it would all make a little more sense. A female student makes less sense from what we know to expect out of females, crime statistics do not lie. Unless this is a highschool student that maybe was influenced by a boyfriend, normally young females don't go around showing off their stolen guns or steal them in the first place.
 
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