What would you do?

[sloughfoot]

YOU LOANED YOUR GUN OUT!!!!!!!!!!!

And in what plane of existance is it "stolen" after you loaned it to him?

This is a contractual transaction. Civil not criminal.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Civil matter. Not criminal. Check with your local po-po.

Stolen gun wouldn't be a criminal matter?

 

[Onebad06vtx]

Go to the cops and have it reported regardless!

 

[hopper68]

May not be theft but possibly conversion? It has been awhile since I watched Perry Mason so my lawspeak is a bit rusty.

 

[Bunnykid68]

And in what plane of existance is it "stolen" after you loaned it to him?

This is a contractual transaction. Civil not criminal.

He didn't give it back, which makes it a stolen gun.

 

[bwframe]

He didn't give it back, which makes it a stolen gun.

Unless he interpreted the loan as a gift.
Older bro has prolly given him lots of gifts over the years?

 

[The Bubba Effect]

Every family is different, but if it were my brother, I wouldn't involve the law.

I would contact him directly and tell him that I heard that he sold my gun and try to get the truth out of him and deal with it.

If you think it will serve your family best in the long run to sue him or involve the police, that's different. You have to do what's best for your family (including your brother), but I sure wouldn't bring the law on family over money.

 

[Gluemanz28]

Sounds to me like a $400 dollar lesson. I never loan anything that I'm not willing to give away. A guy from church need financial help to either pay his power bill or get a prescription filled for one of his kids. He asked for a loan but I told him it wasn't a loan that I wanted to be a blessing to him. An unpaid loan is hard to swallow.

I didn't see anywhere that the OP said the gun was registered to him but if it is was I would let my brother know that I am not comfortable with a registered gun in my name floating around the streets. I would let him know if the gun wasn't returned I would have no choice but report it to the authorities for your protection. You will have to set a time deadline and stick to it.

I love my brother and would die for him but I'm not going to pay for his stupid mistakes.

 

[sloughfoot]

He didn't give it back, which makes it a stolen gun.

I worked as the Desk Sergeant for two years in Ft Wayne from 1999 to 2001. I can tell you with absolute certainty that this is not a criminal matter because the owner of the property gave the item to the scumbag.

You don't like it, I don't like it, but that is how it is. But no way would I sign my name to a stolen report.

Nothing was stolen. No theft occurred. Depending on the exact circumstances, there might be Criminal Conversion, but not as has beendescribed so far.

 

[PGRChaplain]

That Sux about your Gun. In the end this will be a $400.00 lesson. In the future loan no one anything you can't give them. Go with the GlueMan advise.

 

[shaynster]

You guys will love this.I just got my stamp back for my sbr a couple months ago and did it under a trust. I'll give you one guess who the co-trustee is. Yep, my brother. I will be taking him off.

 

[GunSlinger]

Losing the gun and the 400 bucks it was worth is a bad situation, but for me I'd be a lot more concerned about my 28 year old brother that's doing drugs (after all booze is legal). It sounds to me as if he had been planning this. He may not have sold it at all but gave it up as a drug debt payment.

I had a gun stolen once (I don't lend a firearm to anyone...period) and got some info on who stole it. It was my fault as I had left it in my night stand unsecured. It was a neighbors 20 something year old "good friend" of our family. We called him over to the house and I confronted him. He and I got into one of our cars and met up with a friend of mine and without laying a hand on him convinced him that he wouldn't be going back home until the gun was recovered. Within the hour we had recovered my gun, and he had to deal with the guy he sold it to for drug money. The neighbor kid wasn't seen around the neighborhood for the next couple of days after that. Guess he had a hard time refunding the other guys money. Just me talking but I wouldn't rest until I located/recovered my gun.

Only you can decide how to proceed with your brother, but get the gun back first...and yeah, you have to remove your brother from the trust. This may sound a bit dramatic but just imagine yourself stripped naked and staked to the ground in the middle of fire ant colonies. That's how I felt liability wise when my gun came up missing, and I could not rest until I had it back.

 

[Fixer]

Borrow something of his that is about $400 and sell it. Call it even and move on.

 

[Dirtebiker]

You guys will love this.I just got my stamp back for my sbr a couple months ago and did it under a trust. I'll give you one guess who the co-trustee is. Yep, my brother. I will be taking him off.

In more than one way, his name and "trust" do not belong together!

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

He didn't give it back, which makes it a stolen gun.

No, it doesn't. He loaned his brother the gun, brother hasn't returned it, which is more breach of contract. The same principal, and why nobody gets arrested, when they miss a car payment.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Actually interested in the "long story" on this one.

Why did you lend it to them

and

What was their reason for selling it? Did they need money, or did they think you shouldn't have a gun?

 

[joncon]

Years ago I loaned a Hi-Standard 22 to my older sister who was getting a divorce and wanted something for protection. Well, one of her "boy friends" stole it. She didn't tell me for months and when she did, she didn't know who had stolen it. The gun wasn't in my name and I hadn't recorded the serial number. So I couldn't report it. It still ticks me off when I think about it. But live and learn.

 

[churchmouse]

Actually interested in the "long story" on this one.

Why did you lend it to them

and

What was their reason for selling it? Did they need money, or did they think you shouldn't have a gun?

Drugs......dealer will take gun as payment in a split second as he can turn it over for profit quickly.

 

[hooky]

4/5 or 8/10 depending on whose scale you want to use.

 

[HoughMade]

I think it's cute when people play lawyer. I did too. It's fun and Google has made it easier.

Anyhoo, this is both a civil and criminal matter, though I think the chances of your local police or prosecutor taking up the case is pretty slim, but you never know and you certainly never know until you try.

Theft IC 35-43-4-2.

The definition of theft does not require the state to prove the defendant was the person who took the property in the first instance, since, while it is an element of theft that one "exert unauthorized control," the definition of this element is not limited to an actual "taking." Atkins v. State, 499 N.E.2d 1180 (Ind.Ct.App. 1986).

Criminal Conversion IC 35-43-4-3.- this is similar to Theft, but does not require proof of intent to deprive the rightful owner.

As for the civil side, it could be conversion or trespass to chattel.

Take your pick.

As for what you should do.....this is where giving it away for free stops.

On a non-legal advice note, are you on good terms with anyone else in the family who he respects (an elder perhaps, father, mother, uncle, etc.)? I little pressure could go a long way.