So, when you read this convoluted, twisted tale, please remember that times and laws change, are and always have been different jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Please don't start screaming, "You can't /couldn't do that", because I could. Then. Don't know about now.
Back in the early '80s I was a law enforcement officer working with a great partner, at night up in the costal mountains of California in an unincorporated town. We were there looking for drunk drivers, as there was a bad late night accident problem in that area. The smallish town had several bars, popular with those who thought they could drink themselves silly in a fairly remote small town, then drive home without detection.
The action was slow that night, and it was a bit early in the evening, so we decided to write some parking tickets. There was very little traffic moving on the roadways, as everyone was inside slurping down the drinks. The main street of the town was parked bumper to bumper on both sides for several blocks without regard for resident fire hydrants, driveways, red curbs, etc. We just parked the patrol car and walked down the sidewalk finding a violation here and there. We came upon one car with expired license plate tags. I wrote a parking ticket, and in looking into the interior of the vehicle saw an open whiskey bottle on the right front floorboard. We could enter the vehicle to obtain the registration card, and also to search for further contraband. In so doing I found a Mauser Model. 1914 under the driver's seat. Interestingly (now remember this....) the right grip was charred a bit like it might have been in a fire or very near one. I ran the serial number, and it came back as stolen about a year earlier from a house fire in a nearby large city. That squared with the charred grip. Just as an aside, other than the grip the gun was in collector condition.
Well, as Fate and Lady Justice would have it, about the time that I finished writing the citation here came a fellow walking down the sidewalk from the nearest bar. He approached and asked what the problem was, as it was his car, and he was a *** **** Fireman! Wow! A gift like this doesn't happen often. He was arrested for Possession of Stolen Property, a Felony. It was just too open and shut, and I never went to Court on the matter, but did hear at a later date that he was no longer a fireman.
So...I got one back for someone.
DG