What if I see a gun that was stolen from me?

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cjwils

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This is hypothetical, but I would like to have a good answer in case the real event occurs.

Some time ago, several guns were stolen from me in a home burglary. I have a copy of the police report listing the stolen guns by make, model, caliber, and serial number, with photos. All of the stolen guns could be identified beyond any doubt. If I ever see one of my stolen guns at a local gun shop or online, what should I do? Should I contact my local police first and ask them to follow up? Should I communicate with the seller? Would the answer be different if it is a local store versus an on-line seller?
 
In Virginia a state trooper is required to be at gun shows so background checks can be run, I’m sure other places have security or police. Find them, let them know and have them discuss the matter with the person that has your guns.
 
Advise the seller, pawnbroker, etc, immediately. Any reputable dealer wants no more to do with selling a stolen firearm than you want your stolen gun sold. Have the seller pull it from the case while calling the police yourself. How fast an officer or agent can respond will dictate your next move. You may have to ask the seller to "hold it in the back" pending further investigation. Make sure the seller/dealer knows you are reporting where and when you see the gun(s.)

If you see the stolen gun in an online ad, attempt first to determine what law enforcement agency has jurisdiction over the seller's location. Then, inform the agency to which you reported the theft, and that other agency (yours will likely inform it, also, but do so yourself.) Ask for advice on your next step from your agency as to whether or not they think it would be a good idea to "tip off" the seller. The seller's reputation, business (is he a dealer making a living?) and location will have some effect on determining the next step.
 
Stolen guns sure do get around.
Last year I saw a rifle in a pawn shop in Mission, Texas that had been stolen from me (well, stolen from my dad, actually, although he couldn't legally own a gun) in 1973 in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon. It was a pretty rare piece of work - a MAS36 that had been reworked by Golden State Arms into a sporter and reworked again to take 7.35 Carcano. Furthermore, I had broken the front sling screw off and wound up replacing it with a brass drawer pull screw.
Like I said, pretty easy to identify - but I had never reported it stolen (I was 17 and too ignorant to keep a record of its serial number) and the poor thing was beat to death through abuse and neglect.
I just smiled and went on.
Closure, of a sort.
 
I to have had a few stolen from me due to a home break in , I would call the police and tell the seller that its stolen and I had the proof like the police report and insurance claim reflecting
the make model caliber and serial number and see what happens , the thing that stinks with stolen guns is from what I understand when I asked a pawn shop they said that the call in back ground
check by a FFL is to check the buyer not the gun's serial number, so I could see how a honest guy could buy a stolen gun from a pawn shop or of the used gun rack pass the call in back ground check and walk out with a paid receipt and a stolen gun and have no idea.
 
My brother had a couple of his guns stolen. Did the police report and contacted his insurance company. When he got the check from the insurance company, he asked their rep if he has to pay the insurance company back if the guns are recovered and he was told not to worry about that as stolen guns are almost never recovered.
 
stolen guns are almost never recovered

Exactly serial numbers are rarely checked unless the firearm was use in a crime so a stolen gun could be sold and resold many times without anyone knowing it’s was once stolen, back ground checks only checks the buyers criminal history not the guns history
 
I know a guy who had this happen. He wanted to replace his stolen gun and found one at a local gun show. He looked at the serial number and thought it looked familiar(Better memory than I have!) He called his wife who looked through their records and confirmed it was his stolen gun and he called the police and they confiscated the gun and returned it to him.
 
A former coworker had a really nice Springfield EMP stolen from his truck. It was used in a robbery several months later almost 3 years later. The cop that took the report was the one who pulled the weapon off of the robber. My buddy got the gun back on the courthouse steps once the trial finished and it was no longer needed as evidence. He was thrilled with the night sights and grip upgrades it got while it was AWOL.
 
IF the owner can provide a SN roughly 1/2 are eventually recovered. It may be days, weeks or even years later. The problem is that only a small percentage of gun owners can produce the SN of their guns when they are stolen. Police don't actively try to recover just the gun, but they often KNOW who took it. If not many stolen guns eventually turn up while other crimes are solved. When they run the SN it is fairly easy to get it back. Without a SN they have no idea who to call.

I had one stolen 5 years ago and it was recovered during a drug bust in the next county over 1 month to the day later. That case still hasn't gone to trial. After the trial I can get it back.

Two years ago someone walked up and down the streets breaking into every car in the neighbor hood. I was the 1st to report it early on a Sunday morning. When I went out to get the paper I could see where someone had torn the fabric loose on my Jeep Wrangler to get in. I had 2 cheap knives stolen. When the officer responded I could tell he was in a hurry to get the paperwork done. He called me about noon to come to the station and identify the knives. He KNEW exactly who had done it. Left my house, went to his and arrested him with lots of the other things taken.

A 22 year old kid who I knew. I'm a retired teacher and I taught this kid, and his dad. Both are now in prison. This kid is most likely the one who stole my gun and traded it for drugs 5 years ago. He went to prison right after my gun was stolen on drug charges and got out on parole just a week before the next string of break ins. The local cops had been alerted that he was out and were watching him.
 
IF the owner can provide a SN roughly 1/2 are eventually recovered. It may be days, weeks or even years later. The problem is that only a small percentage of gun owners can produce the SN of their guns when they are stolen. Police don't actively try to recover just the gun, but they often KNOW who took it. If not many stolen guns eventually turn up while other crimes are solved. When they run the SN it is fairly easy to get it back. Without a SN they have no idea who to call.

I had one stolen 5 years ago and it was recovered during a drug bust in the next county over 1 month to the day later. That case still hasn't gone to trial. After the trial I can get it back.

Two years ago someone walked up and down the streets breaking into every car in the neighbor hood. I was the 1st to report it early on a Sunday morning. When I went out to get the paper I could see where someone had torn the fabric loose on my Jeep Wrangler to get in. I had 2 cheap knives stolen. When the officer responded I could tell he was in a hurry to get the paperwork done. He called me about noon to come to the station and identify the knives. He KNEW exactly who had done it. Left my house, went to his and arrested him with lots of the other things taken.

A 22 year old kid who I knew. I'm a retired teacher and I taught this kid, and his dad. Both are now in prison. This kid is most likely the one who stole my gun and traded it for drugs 5 years ago. He went to prison right after my gun was stolen on drug charges and got out on parole just a week before the next string of break ins. The local cops had been alerted that he was out and were watching him.
Man. Sad . . .
 
My recommendation to the question presented is to call the police and let them handle it. Keep track of the seller but do not engage because you have no idea what type person the seller is.
 
Locally used guns bought by gun shops and pawnshops get checked against the NCIC by local police. That's under state law, not federal.
It could be a local thing, because we are on the TN/VA border and guns stolen in one state are often trafficked in the other.

ADDED: I would let my local police check into it.
 
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"Locally used guns bought by gun shops and pawnshops get checked against the NCIC by local police."

That is not true in my state, and I think not true in most states. I think it should be required, but it is not.
 
^ It is not universal.
Also researchers Wright & Rossi found that most stolen guns, like DVDs, etc. get fenced for money, and the end buyer might not be aware it is stolen goods.
 
Locally, we have examples where numbers are not entered or checked. Numbers are not consistently monitored at pawn shops. Having the serial number of the firearm means you have the serial number. That may be as far as it goes. Hope this is not nationwide.

Addendum: Here in Tennessee the number(s) is run with the background check. Each time I buy a firearm there is a background check. If stolen the gun is confiscated. All this works if the number has been entered in the NCIC computer.
 
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In my case the LGS was run by a friend. He kept the rifle for 90 days and ran the SN. As I had not reported it stolen yet (loaned to a friend and his druggie son stole it and was not discovered till 3 months later), he auctioned it off on GB. Another friend got a tip and told me where it was fenced so I went and asked LGS. He had shipped it to buyer the previous day. Local PD got it back, charged kid, went to court, and 1.5 years later I got my rifle back, slightly worse for the wear.
 
Report immediately to the nearest LE. If online, I'm guessing report to the local LE if known. I wouldn't confront the seller- the seller may be the thief or may be friends with the thief. If the seller is not culpable, he/she can explain it. It's not your job to investigate. Think about it- if you were a legit dealer at a show or in your shop, and someone told you that the Colt python you were selling had been stolen, what would YOU do? Would you just hand it over? Eventually, the police will need to be involved. It just makes sense to get to that point as quickly as possible to me.
 
I've only had one stolen. Actually it was stolen from my MIL. She hired the nice young neighbor boy to do some work around the outside of her house. All of her cash, and the gun disappeared.

Oh, the nice young neighbor boy turned out to be a middle age ex-con (several times over) drug addict. I did the police report thing, pointed the house out to the LAPD and amazingly, nothing happened.

A couple of days later I wandered over and had a nice "polite" discussion with the individual. I recovered the firearm on the spot, but the money (fortunately only a little over a hundred dollars) had already gone into his veins.

Oh, and even though this was a clear violation of his parole, and a new crime for which he should have be arrested, tried and convicted, he remained free until he OD.

It's just amazing how efficient the police can be, I'm just awed by their brilliance and determination.:fire:
 
Contact the pd that has jurisdiction where the firearms are located. They can investigate, check the s/n's in ncic and recover them.

You mentioned they were taken a while ago. It's also important to update your contact info as needed, new phone numbers or address, with the pd you reported them stolen to.

If and when your guns are located you want them to be able to get a hold of you.
 
Read a bit of mis-information about stolen guns on this thread... so here's some correct into...

"Police don't spend a lot of time looking for stolen guns" quite true but very mis-leading... Every reported stolen firearm is entered into the national data base and every cop is encouraged to check weapons they come in contact with by serial number... If the number was entered correctly and then checked correctly (checking a serial at 3Am in a back alley by flashlight - then calling it in using a handheld radio.... leaves some room for error -another of those "ask me how I know" moments...). Once a weapon comes back as a stolen/hit then a lot will depend on the actual circumstances at the time as to whether the one in possession gets arrested or not (a pawn shop with a stolen weapon will be giving it up and losing whatever money they paid for it - further investigation will be needed to find out just who sold it to them and whether or not charges are appropriate... Someone involved in a crime of any kind - even little misdemeanor type stuff... will probably go down for possession of the stolen firearm if it's discovered...

"Police only check serial numbers....". Maybe in some jurisdictions -but competent officers check any firearm they come in contact with -it there's the slightest doubt about it... If I found that one of my officers handled a disturbance and didn't check any weapons involved - we'd be having a little talk (and that's on the first occurrence - the second time they'd be getting disciplined - the third time they'd be getting recommended for termination... period).

Yes, it's entirely possible for a weapon to be stolen - but not discovered and reported by the owner in a timely fashion... In some cases a weapon can be stolen and change hands several times before it's ever reported stolen... so there's always room for things to look kosher - when they're not - at all...

Glad I'm long out of police work. Guns (no matter how great or how small...) were always a very sensitive item. Anyone in police work that mis-handles gun stuff (reporting, filing, doing a bit of research) is on very shaky grounds. I'm sure there are outfits that don't do a very good job (they're usually the kind of places that hire cops that have been fired in other jurisdictions...) but that isn't the way things ought to go. Everyone needs to keep a close eye on their local authorities and make sure they're behaving correctly. Bad departments only happen in places where local folks are willing to put up with them....
 
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