Stolen Shotgun ownership?

[Fadex]

I think I know the answer to this one but I'm gonna throw it out there since the store owner disagrees.

A relative of mine who lives in Alabama has purchased a shotgun from a pawn shot in Georgia...followed the rules and had it shipped to a friend who holds a FFL in Alabama and took possession after the transfer.

He has now spent several hundred dollars having the shotgun restored and (somehow...not sure how) a Police Detective has contacted him, says that the shotgun was stolen and has directed him to turn in the firearm within 30 days (weird?).

The owner of the store where the shotgun was purchased in Georgia has told him that, here's the other strange part, since there was no claim against the firearm during the 90 day period - it's his to keep, regardless of if it's stolen or not.

Maybe there are laws in force here that I'm not aware of, but I have always understood that stolen...means stolen...regardless of any pawn shop's 90 day pawn period.

Does anyone have experience with this type of transfer? Who's right? The Detective? The Pawn shop owner?

[GLOCKMEISTER]

sounds like BS from both of them too me!

[BrasilNuts]

Kinda sounds familiar...http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/long-guns/18038-gun-i-sold-stolen.html

[Almond27]

Sounds like a Scam to me.

[Jack]

Definatly some fishy stuff going on,im calling scam. He must have posted it on a forum or somthing to catch this "detectives" interest.

[Guest mikedwood]

Kinda sounds familiar...http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/long-guns/18038-gun-i-sold-stolen.html

Yeah, that's exactly the 1st thing I tought of when I read it.

[BryanP]

Seems to me he needs to contact the police dept. in the town where this detective is calling from and ask some questions. Depending on what he finds out from that call he may want to talk to a lawyer. Do not make assumptions based on some internet thread. That's a good way to find yourself in cuffs.

[Fadex]

I'm familiar with the other thread and also thought it sounded that it sounded familiar. But in this case the shotgun has never been posted on the web since he took posession. It has been at a smith since he received it. The detective is from the same city where it was purchased which.

I always thought stolen property is always stolen property until the rightful owner chooses to sale or give the item to someone else. Although I know there are certain times that unclaimed property can be sold. The Sheriff's department does it a few times a year here with cars and

Is it the same type of situation with a pawn shop? Can they advertise an item in the newspaper as"unclaimed" and legally sell the item in this type of situation?

[saintsfanbrian]

If I am not mistaken when you pawn an item you sign a piece of paper stating that if you do not pay the fees or repay the loan by X date then you forfeit the property. This in turn would give the pawn shop owner every right to sell the item to some one else to recoup their investment.

Now, does this mean that the rightful owner cannot say that they had the item stolen? Not in the least, however if the pawn shop owner has the proper records (which they should) then it should be easy enough to prove. Also, pawn shops can get in trouble and even shut down for accepting stolen goods so if he knew it was stolen when he took it in there will be repercussions for him.

Contact the police department the detective is supposed to be with and see if they actually exist. Check to see if the item is stolen through them too if possible.

[Falcon1]

It is just me, but I think I would talk to a lawyer (or maybe even one in each state) before I contacted the police department in question.

[Guest Oaklands]

I've got to agree with people above. Do some investigating on your part.

[BrasilNuts]

If a Detective showed up on my door step claiming that an item I had was stolen and I needed to surrender the item within 30 days or...... He had better have some kind of documentation backing up his claim... did he? If he did I would still make some calls and check it out.

[Guest db99wj]

If a Detective showed up on my door step claiming that an item I had was stolen and I needed to surrender the item within 30 days or...... He had better have some kind of documentation backing up his claim... did he? If he did I would still make some calls and check it out.

I wouldn't be meeting this "detective" in a public parking lot to hand over the shotgun.....

Seriously, I would be checking this stuff out as others have said.

[threeshot]

I google searched and found this:

See page two:

http://www.atf.gov/publications/newsletters/ffl/ffl-newsletter-1999-02.pdf

[Guest Muttling]

Seems to me he needs to contact the police dept. in the town where this detective is calling from and ask some questions. Depending on what he finds out from that call he may want to talk to a lawyer. Do not make assumptions based on some internet thread. That's a good way to find yourself in cuffs.

+1

The details we're getting sound like a scam, but there's always more to it so it's impossible to say. Call the department directly first and find out what is going on.

My second question is, "Have they contacted the pawn shop owner for his records concerning who pawned the weapon?" If they're investigating a crime, shouldn't they be trying to track down the thief as well as retrieve the stolen property?

[Volzfan]

Try this site and see if it helps.

www.stolenweapon.com

About stolenweapon.com

Hello my name is Eric Minton. My good friend had a firearm stolen November

2008. The theft occurred in the small town of Leitchfield, KY. A report

was made to the local sheriff, fliers were posted and handed out in our

town, as well as, the surrounding communities. An ad was placed in the

local newspaper for a month offering a reward. Because my friend wanted

more exposure he searched the web for a place to submit his stolen gun,

after several hours of searching, he realized no such site existed.

It was that mindset that www.stolenweapon.com

was created. A website designed exclusively with the victim of gun

theft in mind. In order for us as individuals to preserve our rights we

must take initiatives and become proactive in order to prevent

governmental gun control. The major negative stigma associated with

firearms are gun crimes, but as we all know guns don’t commit crimes,

people do. If legislation was passed to control gun ownership it would

only hinder and disarm law abiding citizens because criminals would not

register guns.

Although gun recovery is difficult, it is not our

websites only purpose. At the moment, a stolen weapon is instant cash

for any thief, but with our websites capability it will now allow the

general public to privately and easily identify a stolen weapon. This

will ultimately drive down the value of these weapons; therefore,

preventing and deterring a thief from stealing firearms. Unfortunately,

there will always be thieves, but who would buy, trade, or sell a

firearm they know has been stolen except thieves, and who likes or

wants to deal with thieves. By allowing individuals to check our

website for stolen weapons this will potentially help reduce crime

rates, which threaten our individual freedoms to own guns.

It was explained to us that the majority of the local law enforcement

agencies will not run gun checks for the general public. As we all know

the NCIC exists, but it is only available for law enforcement use. Law

enforcement plays a vital role in the recovery of stolen weapons and we

totally support the service they provide. With over 500,000 weapons

stolen annually in the U.S. alone we feel there is room for us to make

a difference.

www.stolenweapon.com is completely free. It allows individuals, traders, gun shops, buyers, sellers etc….a viable, interactive opportunity to list and also search

for stolen firearms. We understand that victims of gun theft (gun

owners) want their personal information kept private and we respect the

right to privacy; therefore, the personal and serial number information

submitted by a victim is completely private and encrypted with a

RIJNDAEL_256 bit encrypted string. This information is not stored in

any type of readable form in our database and no one else is able to

view the submitted information. If a searcher (anyone searching

weapons) performs a general weapons description search without a serial

number, only those weapons that match the description will show up with

the state it was stolen from. The submitters (victim of gun theft)

personal information and serial numbers are not viewable. If a searcher

performs a serial number search and there is a positive match to the

serial number in the database, then an alert is sent to the searcher

that the weapon is stolen. Also, an alert is sent to the original

submitter. The submitter is then free to contact his/her local law

enforcement agency. Only serial number matches trigger alerts.

The www.stolenweapon.com site has been designed in a cut and dry fashion in order to keep it quick and easy. This format keeps the site accessible for everyone to

use and does not distract the user from its original purpose. I wanted

to get some feedback from my fellow gun owners. Please know we are

dedicated to serving your needs and will be constantly evolving to meet

them.

Thank You,

Stolen Weapon Team/Co-founder, Eric Minton Radcliff, KY

info@stolenweapon.com