Man arrested for "Grand Theft of a Firearm" in Miami Airport

[nawainwright]

Now, I don't want to discuss the "i didn't know it was in my fanny pack" aspect of this. What concerns me primarily is that he was charged with "Grand Theft of a Firearm" when the weapon in his possession was reported stolen 16 years ago. That seems to be a long time ago to assume that this man is the one who stole it, or even knew it was stolen! I suppose the argument could be made that you need to make sure you check the serial numbers on all your firearms in case you might have picked up one that was stolen sometime in history. But that seems to be a bit of an undue burden, especially going back well over a decade. How many guns have you owned for over a decade and a half? Obviously all the trasactions were made without "papers", but how many people could this gun have gone through before it got to this bonehead? I'd be interested to see how this pans out. Thoughts?

Police: Man had loaded gun in bag at Miami airport - BostonHerald.com

Police: Man Had Loaded Gun in Bag at Miami Airport - FoxNews.com

 

[littletommy]

I dunno what the guy's intentions may have been, but, at a minimum, he screwed up big. The bad thing is, TSA are high fiving each other because they "averted disaster", and can wave this at the public in an attempt to justify themselves.

 

[Lobo]

[SIZE=-1].
[/SIZE]

 

[Glock18FA]

It doesnt matter if he stole it or not, he was in the possession of one that was still on the books as stolen.

If he didnt steal it then the charges should be dropped.

 

[indykid]

Wonder how many people on this site run a serial number check on every pre-owned firearm they purchase? I would venture the guess that the number is close to none.

Remember, from what they are saying in the article, the man is guilty until proven innocent. Again, one more infringement.

 

[Glock18FA]

Remember, from what they are saying in the article, the man is guilty until proven innocent. Again, one more infringement.

And how is this different than any other news article?

 

[serpicostraight]

And how is this different than any other news article?

actually this isnt any different. just the same thing we see everyday the government acting stupid again. nothing new to see here move along.

 

[indykid]

And how is this different than any other news article?

I agree with you. Today's news media isn't interested in facts or truth, just sensationalism. And of course the old thing that anyone with a firearm must be plotting a crime, or has already committed a crime, or both.

Sickening isn't it?!?!?!

 

[Glock18FA]

actually this isnt any different. just the same thing we see everyday the government acting stupid again. nothing new to see here move along.

Its not just the government, its the house wife that left her kids in the car, the Dr that is writing scripts for pain killers, you for not paying your taxes.

Every one is guilty in the media.

 

[littletommy]

Wonder how many people on this site run a serial number check on every pre-owned firearm they purchase? I would venture the guess that the number is close to none.

Remember, from what they are saying in the article, the man is guilty until proven innocent. Again, one more infringement.

Actually, several years back, I bought a few used guns, and had my then father-in-law, who is a cop, run the guns before I bought em'. I have not bought any guns through FTF deals lately, but I would absolutely ask him to run one for me again. It may not be a 100% way to guarantee the weapon is not hot, but I always try to make an effort anyway.

 

[Stainer]

If it was marion county he would get the charges reduced to conversion, an A misdemeanor. It still may be reduced or charges may not even get filed due to the length of time. Another factor that would play into it would be whether the gun was a steal from Florida or another state. Lots of things play into this and with a decent attorney, I would bet most of these charges will go away. Oh and I run mine 100% of the time.

 

[Bigum1969]

So can you just call your local PD and run a serial # to see if a gun is stolen?

 

[littletommy]

So can you just call your local PD and run a serial # to see if a gun is stolen?

Honestly, I don't think I would do that without having a buddy who happens to be a LEO. I would think that most PDs would do this, but I would be leary of it. I knew my Father-in-law wasn't gonna slap cuffs on me if the gun I was having him run turned out to be stolen. Out of the three I had him run for me, I had him run two of them prior to my buying, but one, a Super BlackHawk, I couldn't get to him before giving the guy his money. It worked out fine, and I tripled my money when I sold it (which I wish I hadn't done).

 

[nawainwright]

So can you just call your local PD and run a serial # to see if a gun is stolen?

This would be my concern though, its a "gotcha" game. Suddenly they have the current owner who has now trafficed an illegal firearm. Why go any further? There are some cops (as in any job) who would just as soon take the easiest answer/collar.

 

[Lucas156]

keyword "knowingly" possessed stolen property. How are they going to prove that he knew it was stolen?

 

[Lobo]

.

 

[Stainer]

If it was Marion county, the theft charge would not be filed at all. Period. They won't even file for a week old stolen car, let alone a handgun that was stolen years ago.

The stolen car thing is sad, but true. And you are probably right, unless they could link the person who was in possession of the weapon with the original steal(ie fingerprint recovered from the site of the steal).

 

[edporch]

A few years back, I bought I really nice M1 Carbine from my local gunshop that I've dealt with for years.
It was a Quality Hardware if I remember right.

I had it for a year or so, and I was informed by the police that it had been stolen.
Seems a guy from Illinois stole it from a man he worked for, and sold it as a used gun in Indiana at my local gunshop.

He was caught up to later and confessed to having sold it there, so they did a check and found who I was.

I met a police officer from Illinois at the local police station and turned it over to them, as I didn't want a gun that wasn't mine.
They gave me a letter for my records outlining what had happened, and that I'd returned it.

My local gunshop returned my money.

But I bought the gun in good faith, from a gunshop and had NO expectation that it had been stolen.

But it got me to thinking, how easy it is for somebody to steal a gun and sell it at a gunshop someplace, and it likely is common that people have bought guns that are stolen, owned them for years and had no inkling that they are.

 

[BigMatt]

I could have sworn that gun shops have to check to see if they are stolen.

 

[Lobo]

.