My stolen revolver, recovered!!!!!

[Down South]

I got a wierd phone call the other morning at 1:30. A lady asks me if I had a gun stolen about 3-1/2 yrs ago down in New Orleans? I say, Yes I did. She says, we recovered it and that they would be in contact with me later on how to recover it and Oh, sorry for the time of the call.
I was half asleep as any normal person would be at 1:30 in the morning so I just say thanks and hang up.
(My S&W 642 was stolen out of my car when I worked in N.O.)
I wake up the next day and start thinking, is this crazy or what?
I look back through my received calls and sure enough there is a New Orleans area code in there. I call the number and it goes to the Metairie Police.
Long story short, after talking to three departments, they do have my S&W 642. I don't know when I may get it back but I am glad they recovered it. They claim that they made an arrest when they found the revolver. I was glad of that too.

[Bzcraig]

That is certainly unususal that it was recovered and you were contacted. Hopefully, it will be returned soon but realize as slow as justice is in this country until the case against the suspect is ajudicated you won't see it. Lottery ticket time maybe?

[John Allen]

I hope you get it back without too much paperwork.

[ultramag]

Interesting story.....hope it is reunited with its rightful owner soon.

[Taylor]

Got my Colt 1911 back this past May.It can happen.

[Skirmisher]

I received a similar call once regarding a Combat Commander from the local police. Recovered in NYC. As expected no one in NYC or NY was willing to talk to me about returning it.

[Bo1]

Hope the pistol is still in decent shape... My nephew had a 9mm stolen out of his truck while attending LSU and living in Baton Rouge. He got the same call you did in the middle of the night around 7 or 8 years after it was stolen. The Houston PD found the pistol sealed up in a wall while making a drug raid somewhere in Houston. He got his pistol back 8 or 10 months later, and it was in such bad shape, it would not function without sending it to a gunsmith. It also had surface rust all over it..
Bo

[Down South]

My thoughts are about the same. I'll be lucky to get it back and if I do, it might be in bad shape. Rust won't be a problem since the revolver is aluminum frame and stainless cylinder and barrel.
My worry is, did they try to grind the serial number off? Is it beat up, out of time? My Lazer grips, probably pawned or broken.
At least it is off the street. That bothered me. I know about who stole it. They had him on video but he was wearing a hoodie and couldnt make positive ID. It was a drug head and I think he was in cahoots with the kid of the owner of the RV park that I was staying in. The only time we had problems was when the night watchman was off. Only the owner knew when that was.
That was the only gun that was stolen from me that never made it back. I had two rifles stolen some years back but I had those back in about three weeks.

[nagantguy]

Good for you hope you get it soon and if it does come back in bad shape the is this great place called cast boolits where many great smiths as well as boolit casters are know to hang out.

[redneckdan]

As to why the middle of the night they called. My theory is they do this to catch you off balance in hopes of getting a more truthful answer.

Previous coworker of mine had a stupid moment and made a four wheeler drive itself off a cliff and left the remains. Whole thing was on phone video and youtube'd. Well, couple weeks later he gets a call at 3 am talking about how cool the video was and was it him in the video? Being half asleep he admitted and hung up. Well, next day the county files legal papers and when the case went to court the deputy who was on the phone testified to the admission of guilt.

Early in college I was falsely accused of stealing a snowmobile. Kampus Kops were aggressively pursuing me, to the point of pulling me out of classes for 'hall way interrogations'. Then late night phone calls started. Usually the caller asking stuff like; "did you move the sled yet? When am I going to get my parts?" Took a couple times to relize what was going on but eventually caught on. This went on a couple times awake for months. Had to get the dean of student affairs involved to end the harassment.

[brotherdarrell]

That is some good news and gives me hope I may get some of mine back one of these days. Thanks for posting.

[uncle joe]

a friend of mine got a similar call from NY and was told he could not recover it, the caller even asked him "how do you think it got to NYC" DUHHH some crook stole it stupid!!

I received a similar call once regarding a Combat Commander from the local police. Recovered in NYC. As expected no one in NYC or NY was willing to talk to me about returning it.

[MUSTANG]

I received a similar call once regarding a Combat Commander from the local police. Recovered in NYC. As expected no one in NYC or NY was willing to talk to me about returning it.


Sounds like an appropriate "Wrongful Appropriation of Property" lawsuit against the NYC police department. Were it an individual who refused to return stolen property, they would be prosecuted.

Mustang

[akajun]

The reason they called you in the middle of the night is to confirm the NCIC hit on a stolen pistol. Had it not been returned he may have been let go and picked up later when the hit was confirmed.
If you need assistance getting the gun back, let me know, but you should get it back.

[Bad Water Bill]

Seems like the police LOVE to call late at night.

I had a friend drop dead of a heart attack in the early afternoon on a street in Chit Kaga. 10PM I get the call as I am the only # stored on his phone. OK I answered all of their questions ant went to bed feeling bad about loosing a very good friend. 1:30AM another city cop is calling wanting what kind of car Larry had and where could he have left it.

First off look in his wallet and see if he even had a drivers license or insurance card telling more info.

Larry had never learned how to drive as public transportation was at his front door.

3AM another call to confirm my reports.

[Down South]

The phone calls have started rolling in from the Kenner PD and Jefferson Parish sheriff’s Department. I finally talked to a guy in property that had my revolver in his hand. He said it was in good shape but it doesn't wear the Crimson trace grips anymore.
There was an arrest made and he said he would provide details when he had them but it doesn't apper the handgun was used in a crime. It was recovered with other stolen item including bicycle helmets.
He said by the time I come back to La at the end of the month, they may be able to release it. They are still waiting on lab results.

[Down South]

The reason they called you in the middle of the night is to confirm the NCIC hit on a stolen pistol. Had it not been returned he may have been let go and picked up later when the hit was confirmed.
If you need assistance getting the gun back, let me know, but you should get it back.

Thanks akajun. Maybe you can enlighten me better. It sounds if you might be affiliated with the local law enforcement in the area.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

What many big city police departments do is call you and tell you they recovered your firearm but it was destroyed by mistake. A friend of mine had 42 handguns stolen in a burglary several years ago and the last time I talked to him he had only recovered nine. One officer told him that if it a handgun is recovered in Los Angeles you not likely to get it back. The pistols recovered were found in surrounding cities.

[KYCaster]

A friend of mine is the world's foremost Glock mechanic......just ask him, he'll tell you.

He assembled two complete guns from some of his modified parts, intending to get Glock to repair them under warranty. He sent them by UPS and they never made it to Atlanta.

Several months went by and he got a call from Little Rock, AR PD. One of his guns had been recovered.

Guy in a BMW stops at a traffic light and a misunderstood minority youth yanks open the door, sticks a Glock in the driver's face and pulls the trigger........CLICK! Driver pulls his own gun and.......BANG, BANG! They pried the Glock from the perp's cold, dead hands......eventually returned it to my friend.

Happy ending.
Jerry

[Silver Eagle]

Many reports on the "buy back" guns never scanned or checked, just being destroyed. Liberals and politicians just wanting them off the streets. Making it so that the rightful owners are never told that their firearms have been recovered.

[akajun]

I am, in the Baton Rouge area. Metarie pd has a good rep with returning stolen handguns though so it should not be an issue, you will however have to go there yourself to get it and they will require some type of proof of ownership, either a reciept, box w/serial number, or notarized affadavit of ownership and theft. A copy of the police report from NOPD would not hurt either. Dont wait for them to call you, call the property/evidence division of Metarie PD and find out what is required to get the gun back. They may not release it until the case is tried though, but stay vigilant so no " accidents" occur and keep a record of who you talk too and when to show in case it gets destroyed by accident and they have to buy you a new gun.

[Down South]

I am, in the Baton Rouge area. Metarie pd has a good rep with returning stolen handguns though so it should not be an issue, you will however have to go there yourself to get it and they will require some type of proof of ownership, either a reciept, box w/serial number, or notarized affadavit of ownership and theft. A copy of the police report from NOPD would not hurt either. Dont wait for them to call you, call the property/evidence division of Metarie PD and find out what is required to get the gun back. They may not release it until the case is tried though, but stay vigilant so no " accidents" occur and keep a record of who you talk too and when to show in case it gets destroyed by accident and they have to buy you a new gun.
Pretty much been doing all of that. I have a page of notes, phone numbers and names.
I have the report somewhere. I may have to dig for it but I also still have the box and receipt when I purchased it as I do with all of my firearms.

[fatelk]

A number of years ago I had some guns stolen out of my truck in rural small-town Oregon. A couple days later the deputy that took the report called to say they had found one of them, some idiot kid had it in his car when they arrested him for burglary. I went in and ID'd it, and they said they would call when they were done with it for evidence.

I waited and waited. One night I was driving home really late and a night-shift county-mounty looking for drunks pulled me over (license plate light out- good excuse?). He was the same deputy that took the stolen gun report, and when he saw I was sober, he asked if I ever got my .45 back. I told him what they told me about calling me when it was ready. "Oh, no; you'll never get it back that way. You need to go down there and bug them."

I went down and got it back the next day. Just shot it yesterday, matter of fact. Akajun is right- you have to be pro-active.

The other lesson I learned is even more important. Lock them up good so they can't be stolen. The thought of some criminal robbing or shooting someone with my gun was a lot worse than the loss of the value of the guns.

[Bad Water Bill]

When I started OBTAINING my guns a hand shake was all you needed.

Many of my guns were purchased from folks that passed on years ago or were inherited.

Never considered 50 + years ago I would have to PROVE that I came by them legally.

About the only thing I could do is take photos of each firearm showing the serial # and add a sheet describing how it was obtained.

My grandfather purchased his rifle new around 1906 and gave it to my dad in 1967. Dad died in 1998 and mom gave it to me. Mom died in 2007 so how can I produce a documented bill of sale.

Just to much legaleze for an old man.

[Taylor]

I still have a Sig P226 out there somewhere,and a Smith 27 that Goose Creek PD in SC has and won't return.