Call from ATF: My stolen gun connected to triple homicide

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • MCgrease08

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    37   0   0
    Mar 14, 2013
    14,374
    149
    Earth
    I got an interesting phone call from an ATF agent out of Kentucky this evening. The Colt Detective Special I had stolen in a home burglary almost five years ago has been recovered. Apparently it was in the possession of an Indiana man who is one of three suspects in a triple homicide involving a family found strangled to death in Whitley County Kentucky in 2017.

    It's terrible to hear my gun was somehow connected this horrific crime. I was glad to hear it wasn't actually used in the killings. I'm told I will get the gun back at some point, although he expects it may take a while.

    Teen, mom & stepdad were strangled to death in 2017. Family didn’t give up on finding killers.
     

    d.kaufman

    Still Here
    Staff member
    Moderator
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    128   0   0
    Mar 9, 2013
    14,720
    149
    Hobart
    Thats crazy. Glad to hear you'll get the firearm back at some point. Bet you wrote that one off quite awhile ago
     

    Ark

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    25   0   0
    Feb 18, 2017
    6,735
    113
    Indy
    Dang. I wouldn't want it back if it was actually used, but that's a crazy break with it being found in the guy's possession. What a wild thing to get a call out of the blue for.
     

    MCgrease08

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    37   0   0
    Mar 14, 2013
    14,374
    149
    Earth
    Thats crazy. Glad to hear you'll get the firearm back at some point. Bet you wrote that one off quite awhile ago

    Yeah, I wasn't holding out much hope on this one, but it's the now the second gun recovered out of the four that were stolen.

    Dang. I wouldn't want it back if it was actually used, but that's a crazy break with it being found in the guy's possession. What a wild thing to get a call out of the blue for.

    If it were the actual murder weapon I'm not sure I would ever get it back. I don't know how that all works.

    I didn't get many details on the case itself, but the ATF agent told me these guys are being tried in federal court. I will have to go through the Feds to get the gun back. I'm really curious to see if the process is quicker than when I had to fight with Marion County to get the first one back. That one took more than two years from the time it was recovered.

    Here's the gun in question. I can't wait to get it back. It was the first revolver I ever bought. Hopefully it's in half decent condition.

    Hx2oxl4.jpg
     

    Dead Duck

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    53   0   0
    Apr 1, 2011
    14,062
    113
    .
    That's unheard of. Everyone knows when they taste blood, you need to put them down.
    Aren't you scared it might turn on you? :nailbite:
     

    rob63

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    20   0   0
    May 9, 2013
    4,282
    77
    Hopefully, the police will remove the heroin residue from your gun before they return it to you!

    After reading that story, I'm assuming you weren't home when your gun was stolen, and that may have been a vary good thing?
     
    Last edited:

    indiucky

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    I got some additional details on the case. Holy hell there is some craziness going on here. My gun even gets a mention in the news article.

    https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/article225414025.html

    Wow dude....Whitley City is down in McCreary county....I have a couple of good friends from down there...Tough people down there...good mountain folk basically....Your Colt went back down the hillbilly highway......

    [video=youtube;NNpBLcb15Y8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNpBLcb15Y8[/video]

    [video=youtube;pnGVW6HbPrU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnGVW6HbPrU[/video]
     

    AmmoManAaron

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    37   0   0
    Feb 20, 2015
    3,334
    83
    I-get-around
    That's unheard of. Everyone knows when they taste blood, you need to put them down.
    Aren't you scared it might turn on you? :nailbite:

    You know, most people don't think of all the old military rifles floating around that probably have one or several bodies on them. I'm sure some of the old military rifles in my collection have been used to kill people...maybe some of the handguns too. Just part of history.
     

    MCgrease08

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    37   0   0
    Mar 14, 2013
    14,374
    149
    Earth
    Wow dude....Whitley City is down in McCreary county....I have a couple of good friends from down there...Tough people down there...good mountain folk basically....Your Colt went back down the hillbilly highway......

    I figured you'd know a little something about the area.

    My ex mother-in-law is from Manchester, KY. Not sure how far that is from where this all happened, but I've been down their a few times. In the holler. Hill country for sure.
     

    indiucky

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    I figured you'd know a little something about the area.

    In my mid 20's before I got married I was a trout bum...Every weekend I would drive down to the Smokies or eastern Kentucky...Big South Fork had just been designated a National Recreation Area and there was a killer trout stream there...Had to drive about 15-20 miles down a gravel road...I would sleep in the back of the truck with a ruger security six snub stamped "Dept of Agriculture"...I didn't even have a holster.....The ranger station was there in Whitley City....

    riverwithboulders_bodyimag.jpg
     

    MCgrease08

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    37   0   0
    Mar 14, 2013
    14,374
    149
    Earth
    Bump for an update. The ATF agent involved in the case is coming up to Indy this week to do some legwork on the suspects in preparation for the trial. He wants to try and get together while he's up here to show me some photos, confirm it is my firearm he's got.

    I still have no clue how long it might be before I get it back, but it's progress.
     
    Rating - 100%
    28   0   0
    Oct 3, 2008
    4,186
    149
    On a hill in Perry C
    You know, most people don't think of all the old military rifles floating around that probably have one or several bodies on them. I'm sure some of the old military rifles in my collection have been used to kill people...maybe some of the handguns too. Just part of history.

    I know some of mine have. Conversely, I also know that some of mine were also held by a dying man.
     

    Disposable Heart

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 99.6%
    246   1   1
    Apr 18, 2008
    5,805
    99
    Greenfield, IN
    It's going to be a LOOOOOONNNNGGG time before you get it back. The trial has to clear completely and that can take years in some cases. Just write it off and consider it a surprise when you get it back (and hopefully, but not likely, in reasonable shape, police evidence lockers aren't known for climate control and they don't clean them to ensure they don't rust).
     

    MCgrease08

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    37   0   0
    Mar 14, 2013
    14,374
    149
    Earth
    It's going to be a LOOOOOONNNNGGG time before you get it back. The trial has to clear completely and that can take years in some cases. Just write it off and consider it a surprise when you get it back (and hopefully, but not likely, in reasonable shape, police evidence lockers aren't known for climate control and they don't clean them to ensure they don't rust).

    I'm sure it will take a while to get back and I'm not in any rush. Just knowing they have it is somewhat comforting as I had pretty much already written it off.

    Because it isn't the alleged murder weapon hopefully it won't take as long to return. The agent already told me he thinks he can get it back to me in an more simple process by going through a local agency rather than sending it through to DC and making me go through all the paperwork and formally requesting it back from ATF. We shall see.

    As to condition, I will get to see photos when we meet up. But it's not like this thing was mint to begin with. It already has a ton of holster wear and the blueing is sparse in some places on the barrel. When I first bought it I liked that it had some character and had been carried a lot. I completely stripped it down and cleaned 30+ years of gunk out of the internals. I can do that again if needed.

    As long as it isn't pitted I don't mind some cosmetic blemishes.
     
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Nov 7, 2011
    1,229
    38
    It probably will not be returned to you in the foreseeable future.
    They will probably keep it to check if it was used in any other crimes.
    They will be running a lot more tests on it.

    The criminal was it anyone from your area?
     
    Top Bottom