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So what's the deal with pawn shops and stolen guns? Story below...

Pawn shops feeding the bear too. I guess I won't buy anymore there. I thought for sure they would be checking. I wonder how they avoid prosecution for possession/transfer selling etc of stolen property. I can see it with power tools, but firearms? Heck, the last time I bought a gun from one they ran me through the FFL process.
 
Pawn shops feeding the bear too. I guess I won't buy anymore there. I thought for sure they would be checking. I wonder how they avoid prosecution for possession/transfer selling etc of stolen property. I can see it with power tools, but firearms? Heck, the last time I bought a gun from one they ran me through the FFL process.
Pawn Shops that follow the rules run everyone through the FFL process. The only question is has the gun been run . . . . . . . .
The % of guns that end up being stolen in pawn shops is extremely low.
 
Pawn shops feeding the bear too. I guess I won't buy anymore there. I thought for sure they would be checking. I wonder how they avoid prosecution for possession/transfer selling etc of stolen property. I can see it with power tools, but firearms? Heck, the last time I bought a gun from one they ran me through the FFL process.

Pawn shops have to report to police. We have no way of running numbers through the PD's system to see if they are stolen. We do not have access to their system. That is why we give police the numbers on everything including who brought it to us and Place everything on a 30 day hold period,minimum.

Anyone that purchases a firearm from an FFL dealer has a background check done. That will not give you any info on the firearm, just the person buying.
Here is a fun scenario. You buy a firearm through a private sell from billy bob (friend of your cousins boyfriend from out of town). You dont get a bill of sale. Ol' Billy reports the gun stolen. Where is your proof that you purchased it? At least at the pawn shop you have a receipt and paperwork that covers you and the numbers should have been reported. Why would pawn shops want to deal in stolen property. They are the only ones loosing in the transaction. Where do you think your local gun store got their used inventory? From the same customers that sell to the pawn shop.

Funny thing is most second hand markets other than pawn shops are not required by law to report to the police. I am unsure about gun stores but the guys down at the flea market, Gamestop, thrift stores, Walmart (yes you can sell used electronics to walmart now), ect...

We have gotten pretty far off from the original post. Maybe I should start another Thread. If anyone is unclear on the process in which legitimate pawn shops handles their business and is confused into thinking they just deal in stolen property please feel free to call me and I will educate you.. 678-673-6565
 
As to the original post. Not sure who dropped the ball. I would assume the shop reported the weapon. Through human error or a breakdown in the PD working with surrounding counties, its hard to know. Glad you got it back and sorry it took so long and had a hard life outside of your hands. If you need another weapon and are down my way I'll take care of you. :thumb:
 
Pawn Shops that follow the rules run everyone through the FFL process. The only question is has the gun been run . . . . . . . .
The % of guns that end up being stolen in pawn shops is extremely low.
That's what I thought.
Pawn shops have to report to police. We have no way of running numbers through the PD's system to see if they are stolen. We do not have access to their system. That is why we give police the numbers on everything including who brought it to us and Place everything on a 30 day hold period,minimum.

Anyone that purchases a firearm from an FFL dealer has a background check done. That will not give you any info on the firearm, just the person buying.
Here is a fun scenario. You buy a firearm through a private sell from billy bob (friend of your cousins boyfriend from out of town). You dont get a bill of sale. Ol' Billy reports the gun stolen. Where is your proof that you purchased it? At least at the pawn shop you have a receipt and paperwork that covers you and the numbers should have been reported. Why would pawn shops want to deal in stolen property. They are the only ones loosing in the transaction. Where do you think your local gun store got their used inventory? From the same customers that sell to the pawn shop.

Funny thing is most second hand markets other than pawn shops are not required by law to report to the police. I am unsure about gun stores but the guys down at the flea market, Gamestop, thrift stores, Walmart (yes you can sell used electronics to walmart now), ect...

We have gotten pretty far off from the original post. Maybe I should start another Thread. If anyone is unclear on the process in which legitimate pawn shops handles their business and is confused into thinking they just deal in stolen property please feel free to call me and I will educate you.. 678-673-6565
Thanks! Good info. You point out a key ingredient, "You dont get a bill of sale." I wonder how many folks who buy from Billy Bob even ask for an ID.

Question- How often do you get stolen firearms? It seems a dumb thing to do since you require ID to pawn them.
 
I wonder how they avoid prosecution for possession/transfer selling etc of stolen property.

Possession of stolen property is only a crime if you had a reason to suspect that the property was stolen. While there are broad categories of "reasons" (exceptionally low price, circumstances of sale, disparity between seller and items being sold), the crime is pretty fact specific.

In any event, ANY PURCHASER of stolen property cannot perfect title in it, meaning that if it's proven it's stolen, the purchaser has to give it up. The purchaser isn't necessarily a "slime ball." I once had to deal with a bank president that bought a used pickup truck from a dealer who was a good customer of the bank- they financed a lot of his sales. One day the FBI showed up and told him they were taking the truck because it had been stolen in PA. Bank president cried a river, but there was nothing he could do. Plus he had financed it at his own bank so he had to keep making payments on it. Turns out the dealer was fencing hot trucks from all over the East Coast.
 
On the BOS issue, unless you have a receipt from a store that's dated, a BOS is of limited use because it can't be authenticated.

There are a couple of ways to prove that a gun is yours.

The easiest is to mark it with a unique identifier (you initials, last of SSN, or so on). This can be done discreetly on most firearms. Glop owners can discreetly work their initials into the custom stippling.

The best way and easiest way in my opinion. is to simply take a picture of each gun or other valuable item, showing the serial number, and keep a copy in a safe place. I know several people who have substantiated large insurance claims this way. I even recommend for HO that you take a 4 pictures of each room of your house for the same reason. One flash drive can be worth several thousand dollars. ( I prefer CDs)
 
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