The Good News Is

[getsome]

I got a call from a Detective with the Gwinnett County Police this morning and he told me that the Dekalb County Police ( bordering county) had found my stolen S&W 1911 that was taken from my daughters truck a couple of months ago...He didn't have any details but gave me the number for Dekalb so I gave them a call thinking I might be able to go pick up my pistol but now the bad news...The Dekalb Officer I talked to didn't have any info on where the gun was found or anything else...He said the Officer had not turned in any paperwork yet even though they show it was found last weekend...When I asked if I could come pick it up he laughed and said they had to do a ballistics test and send the result to the NCIC and FBI to see if the gun had been used in a crime anywhere which is ok with me but when I asked how long that process took he said maybe 6 months to a year even if it comes back clean and if found to have been used in a crime it I might not ever get it back as it would be evidence....Oh well, easy come easy go I guess...

[MW surveyor]

Just think of it as having your lost/stolen 1911 in "extended storage". Hope that you get it back eventually.

[OldLincoln]

That is a cousin to my concern about carrying a really special gun for SD. If used, you loose; simple as that from what I've read. Maybe some locals are different but most incidences I've read that it is considered evidence and run through the same drill as above.

I really like my PM9, but wouldn't ever consider a special custom $2500 gun for carry.

[JimBianchi]

Seems to me I read on another gin board of a guy who eventually got a lawyer and had to sue to get the PD to release his gun. Once he got a court order, it still a few weeks, but he did get it back.

If I remember the details correctly it was similar, and they had the gun for two years giving him the run a round about evidence, future cases and stuff.

He only stayed on top of it because the gun was a family heirloom and had a lot of sentimental value.

Keep us posted.

I have 6 guns out there somewhere that were stolen in 1989, so I am curious as to your outcome.

[Bawanna]

Count on at least 6 months minimum and most likely the year. It makes me sick to store guns just like yours in varying climate controls untouched for that long not knowing when / if I can ever give them back. It's all up to the lawyers, etc. I recomment the squeaky wheel tactic on these. I'd call probably every 3 months or so. Get a name of the property person so you can bond and become a real burr under their saddle. Just like warranty service be nice, but persistant. If you can cry a little on the phone to emphasize how much you miss that gun it can't hurt, it probably won't help much either but it can't hurt.

I'm just a backup now in the property room but I use to handle it for many years. I even let owners come in and clean their guns periodically if they desired.
Did that quite a few times.

Sometimes the guns are fingerprinted and usually no effort is made to remove that powder etc. I just can't stand an abused neglected gun. But we're not allowed to clean or disassemble in most cases.

At least you know where it is now getsome, its in the hands of the good guys. It might be a long time (and that totally sucks) but at least theres hope that someday you'll get it back and it'll be like Christmas morning. Hopefully it'll be in fine shape for ya to resume your relationship.

[getsome]

Yep thats about all I can do for now and if it was used in a shooting I wouldn't ever want to see it again anyway...I really didn't think it would ever be recovered and was long gone to Mexico and am very curious to see where it turned up....I also don't know how to handle the insurance company...I took a $275.00 claim against it (had $500.00 deductible) because I was so sure it was gone for good but now I wish I hadn't done that...I suppose I could always pay them back the money to keep the gun if thats how it works but I'm just not sure....

[Bawanna]

Most likely the insurance company won't care. They are now officially the owner of your recovered gun. BUT, they don't want it. They wrote off your 250 $ claim a month after you got the check.
The police will inquire or should inquire if there was a settlement. The insurance will be contacted and most of the time they say give the gun back to the owner. They have no means of getting rid of it that's financially feasible.
I get the same thing quite often with cars and other stuff. Just give it back.
I had a 150 horse Mercury Outboard still in the crate. It was still in the crate when we recovered it, insurance paid off but said give it back.

Them insurance companies got more money than Davy Crockett.

Sadly the police will no doubt never tell you where they found it or where or what the circumstances were.

[O'Dell]

I got a call from a Detective with the Gwinnett County Police this morning and he told me that the Dekalb County Police ( bordering county) had found my stolen S&W 1911 that was taken from my daughters truck a couple of months ago...He didn't have any details but gave me the number for Dekalb so I gave them a call thinking I might be able to go pick up my pistol but now the bad news...The Dekalb Officer I talked to didn't have any info on where the gun was found or anything else...He said the Officer had not turned in any paperwork yet even though they show it was found last weekend...When I asked if I could come pick it up he laughed and said they had to do a ballistics test and send the result to the NCIC and FBI to see if the gun had been used in a crime anywhere which is ok with me but when I asked how long that process took he said maybe 6 months to a year even if it comes back clean and if found to have been used in a crime it I might not ever get it back as it would be evidence....Oh well, easy come easy go I guess...

Gwinnett County is still holding my stolen SIG P220, that was recovered last August in a traffic stop. No one will give me any information about when it might be released. I've gone all the way to the DA's office, but have met with nothing but indifference. In fact, without actually saying so, the female ADA handling the case seemed to be happy that they had the pistol instead of me. As long as they hold it, I won't shoot anyone with it.

[getsome]

I definitely got that feeling when talking to the Dekalb Officer...I have never (thank God) had any dealing with the Police before so I didn't know what to expect but I'm thinking that way now... Oh well all I can do is like Bawann says and play the game....Thanks guys....

[Jeremiah/Az]

My daughter had a S/W model 60, that I had given her, taken by the police illegally, read for no reason or criminal activity. It was under her seat in the car, which is perfectly legal in Az. She was told that she could get it back by talking to the individuals that took it. She could never contact them after a year of trying. She never did get the gun back.:32:

[Bawanna]

My daughter had a S/W model 60, that I had given her, taken by the police illegally, read for no reason or criminal activity. It was under her seat in the car, which is perfectly legal in Az. She was told that she could get it back by talking to the individuals that took it. She could never contact them after a year of trying. She never did get the gun back.:32:

How long ago was this? By individual you mean the officer or officers that took it?

Strange she couldn't contact them. They still have to have it someplace. It has to be accounted for somehow.

[earle8888]

I feel for your frustration and angst. But, understanding that the potential exists, as stated above, I still would carry for my defense the best weapon I handle the best! Regardless of cost or value!!!!!

[Rainman48314]

Yep thats about all I can do for now and if it was used in a shooting I wouldn't ever want to see it again anyway...I really didn't think it would ever be recovered and was long gone to Mexico and am very curious to see where it turned up....I also don't know how to handle the insurance company...I took a $275.00 claim against it (had $500.00 deductible) because I was so sure it was gone for good but now I wish I hadn't done that...I suppose I could always pay them back the money to keep the gun if thats how it works but I'm just not sure....
If this was a car, you couldn't claim it because the insurance company would technically own it. Are you sure you even own or can lay claim to this gun?

[WMD]

There were stolen several guns confiscated (by LE) some time ago. THey had been stolen from my father's house. LE held the guns for almost a year. two of these guns were used in a crime. Sadly, my father passed away and I inhereted the guns (while thery were in police custody. I did finally get the guns back, including the ones used in a crime. The guns were in tough shape. As Bawanna says, they had been handled by a number of folks, been fingerprinted, and never been cleaned. They were a sorry mess. The good news is I was able to clean them and there was no permanent damage.

There was also $400 cash recovered by LE that the bad guy stole from my fathers house. I could not get that money becasue the money was on the bad guy's person and the cops could not prove he stole it from my Dad's house. They would not take my word. :mad:

[WMD]

oops! :o

Just re-read my post. Sorry for the bogus spelling. I was to quick with the submit button. Won't happen again! (hopefully!) :D

[HadEmAll]

I had a Ruger SP101 stolen from a van in a vehicle burglary in San Antonio. I settled with the insurance company and got another one.

9 years later, I was contacted by a San Antonio police officer who told me that the DEA had contacted them. The pistol had been confiscated in a drug raid in Houston. The case was over, and they actually wanted to return the pistol to me, checking with the SAPD first to make sure i was an upstanding citizen. I was given the name of the DEA agent to contact.

I tried everything I could think of to get him to meet me somewhere between SA and Houston, but end result I had to drive to Houston and pick up the pistol at the DEA headquarters.

It looked like it had been used as a hammer, but with some light polishing, it looked like its former self.

I contacted my insurance agent and asked how to proceed, and was told to just forget about it.

It's now protecting my son and his family, and I have better vehicle security, both electronic and physical.

I was surprised by the fact that a Federal agency would be interested in returning a firearm to its original owner.

[Jeremiah/Az]

Re: my daughter's model 60

It has been about 7 years ago. She was given the names of two detectives to contact to get the gun back. She called & even went to the station many times. They were always conveniently unavailable.

[WGSNewnan]

go over to the court house and file a small claims case against them. they have no right to your property unless they know it was used in a crime. a simple lawsuit will get your weapon back. BTW - my BIL is a captain over at one of the dekalb precincts .he said it happens all the time. its no wonder he has a closet full of confiscated weapons. im not sure but i think i remember him telling me that you only have a certain amout of time after notification to claim/sue before forfiture or something. like i said - "a whole closet full of them".

[jlottmc]

See I must be the exception. My old man had borrowed my 1911 then got busted for DWI. Abilene (of all places, these guys are about as snooty as Austin) actually let me come pick it up. I had to do another background check (even though I told them I had a CHL), and a 4473, and they wouldn't give me the ammo on the same day, but I got my pistol just that easy. I also had to sign an agreement that I wouldn't sell or dispose of it for a year, but considering that I still have it, you get the idea. All in all it was relatively painless.

[getsome]

I'm starting to see how this whole thing works now....Don't get me wrong here, I support the Police and am glad they are out there but when I called Dekalb Police back which is what the told me to do several weeks ago and talked to another officer in the property room he said they have over 2000 weapons that have to be ballistic tested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the GBI had stopped testing in 2009 due to funding and backlog and there was no plans in the works to start back....I called the GBI and talked to a nice lady in their firearms section who said that its up to the individual Police agency as to if testing is needed on a firearm not related to an active case (mine isn't) so it seems Dekalb Police is happy to sit on it forever and hope the rightful owner gives up and goes away... I called Dekalb back and talked to the same officer who said the same thing again and when I informed him I had contacted GBI and found out that wasn't true he got angry and said thats how Dekalb operates and there isn't anything I can do about it and hung up....I am off on vacation next week and will go down to the station and see if I can talk to a supervisor and hopefully face to face can get some answers but it is starting to look like I'm going to have to take legal action to get my pistol back...I'm starting to wonder who the bad guys really are and when the day has come that a citizen has to sue the police to get them to do the right thing it's a sad day indeed!!!...:mad:

[Bawanna]

Don't give up getsome. I expect Dekalb is a big agency and ought to know what the rules are. Alot of small towns just don't or make up their own rules. Some property officers just thrive on not giving back guns, they think they are making the world safer. Doesn't look like the case here but could be. We have one who I backup who feels that way but she does follow the rules and gives them back if she has too. We're total opposites. She tries everything to not give it back, I try everything to make it happen. If they can't follow thru on their own policy due to budget there has to be a path around that even if you have to pay for the test or whatever.
Where is Dekalb anyhow, what state? I'll see if I can find anyone that knows anyone down there and rattle some cages.

[Chowser]

6 months plus???? Last year I took an old Colt Delta Elite 10mm off a guy which had the serial number filed off. We sent it to our state lab. Within a month, I got a report back, serial number and all. Contacted the original owner and advised him that we had it but that it's been used in a few crimes. He said he sold it to a pawn shop years ago and didn't care what we did with it.

I just sent off a Czechoslovakian CZ-83 in .380 from a shooting and we'll see how long they take this time. We did get a notice that they were getting back logged. Good thing for the victim, the first round missed and the gun failed to extract.

[TheTman]

I think it's a convenient way for big brother to confiscate guns and thus "make the world safer". That is one reason my buddy started looking into a Kahr, he sure doesn't want to see his Kimber Ultra Carry Crimson II go into the evidence wasteland and never be seen again. A Kahr at less than half the price of the Kimber would be a lot easier to let go of.
I've been talking up the Kahrs a lot to him. I worry about him with that light SA trigger. He has a lot of nerve damage and loses his balance and falls down a lot, and I fear he might accidently pull the trigger when he didn't mean too. They measured the trigger pull the other day and it was right at 4lbs. Nice for a target gun, a little light for a SD weapon, for guys like me and him. Maybe an even better choice might be a SA/DA semi with a decocker. That would give him a nice long and fairly heavy DA trigger pull for the first shot.
Any one have any suggestions on a reliable DA/SA pistol with a decocker that's about the same size as his officer sized Kimber?

[Bawanna]

The Smith & Wesson 4516 would pretty much fits that criteria. I had one and liked it real well. Several in that series that might work in either DA/SA or DAO (which I don't really like).

The Para LDA series would feel and look very much like his Kimber but with alot more take up in the trigger. Very light take up, then resistance and it's then just like a 1911. Much more forgiving. Hammer is always down. It's the same trigger pull everytime alot like a Kahr but lighter.

[getsome]

Any of the Gen 3 S&W pistols are great shooters, very safe and can be had a a very good price most anywhere...Lots of Police trade ins available...

[O'Dell]

Don't give up getsome. I expect Dekalb is a big agency and ought to know what the rules are. Alot of small towns just don't or make up their own rules. Some property officers just thrive on not giving back guns, they think they are making the world safer. Doesn't look like the case here but could be. We have one who I backup who feels that way but she does follow the rules and gives them back if she has too. We're total opposites. She tries everything to not give it back, I try everything to make it happen. If they can't follow thru on their own policy due to budget there has to be a path around that even if you have to pay for the test or whatever.
Where is Dekalb anyhow, what state? I'll see if I can find anyone that knows anyone down there and rattle some cages.

How about rattling some cages in Gwinnett County which is right next door to DeKalb about my SIG P220 which they've been holding for nine months.

[O'Dell]

Any of the Gen 3 S&W pistols are great shooters, very safe and can be had a a very good price most anywhere...Lots of Police trade ins available...

I agree about the great shooters part. I have a CS45 and 457S which I bought in March, but they were both over $600 because they were brand new. These are both TDA, ie DA/SA, but the 4043 I had was DAO and not too pleasant to shoot. I traded it on the HK45C.

[Bawanna]

How about rattling some cages in Gwinnett County which is right next door to DeKalb about my SIG P220 which they've been holding for nine months.

Are you still being the squeaky wheel O'Dell? I'd be calling them till they are sick of hearing your voice. There's no reason to be holding yours. Often times in a case like yours, (if they have a suspect or anticipate trial) the lawyers want a physical object rather than a picture. They think it makes more of an impact on the judge and jury if there is one.
If theres not suspect a picture in the case packet should more than suffice and give your gun back. Usually it's the prosecutors call.

So Dekalb is in Georgia huh? Guess I need to refresh my geography skills.

I'm putting the word out to see if anyone here knows anyone in Georgia.

[OldLincoln]

getsome, can you talk with a city councilman or mayor. Sometimes these things resolve when political influence is gently administered. Espeically if you are a veteran.

[TheTman]

Thanks for the tips on the pistols guys. I hadn't thought about those 4516's since they quit making them a few years ago. Looked at some prices on some sites and they seemed pretty reasonable.

Good luck on your pistols guys, hope you get em back before they get to rusty.
Like Bawanna says, make em sick of hearing your voice and maybe they'll give em back.

[O'Dell]

getsome, can you talk with a city councilman or mayor. Sometimes these things resolve when political influence is gently administered. Espeically if you are a veteran.

Lincoln, in my case and probably GS's too, it's the county DA's office that is the roadblock. The police evidence people have been great, but they can't do anything until the DA authorizes the release the pistol.

[jlottmc]

Bug the DA, then bug them more. I would also threaten to go to the AG if needed. It's not right them keeping a weapon like that. The more obnoxious that you are to that DA then the sooner he'll give it up.