Recovered theft firearm

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
Back in 2017 I had a pistol stolen from the center console of my locked car in my driveway. My car was not the only one in the neighborhood that was burglarized and there was at least one other hand gun stolen. 2 deputies & a detective came to the house, report filed and then radio silence.

The gun was an Astra A75 9mm. Not a popular, expensive or oft spoken of firearm. I still had the box and a mag I kept after the gun was stolen. It is a small, single stack, metal frame pistol with a de-cocker. I loved it since it was built like a tank & had digested every handload & fed it with zero issues, even the hotter loads.

Fast forward to 2023, I got a call from a county detective the gun was recently returned & 3 weeks ago I picked it up from the forensics lab.

The gun was still in the evidence bag with the perps name, arresting officer, charges and the recovery date. The gun was stolen in 2017 & recovered 8 months later in 2018. Here is where it gets interesting, it was recovered in Cleveland county in the possession of a felon. It took until the end of March ‘23 for the court case to end and the stolen property to be released from evidence.

The first indication that the Rutherford county even knew the firearm had been recovered was the phone call they received to come pick up the 2 stolen firearms. Cleveland county is the next county east of mine and NEVER contacted the RCSD to let them know it was recovered. This is the details as provided by the detective, I see no reason on his part to tell anything other than the facts.

I find that rather slack & disappointing, considering all the gun control BS being used to crush our rights. I mean, how hard is to lift a phone and call the neighboring county with news on a recovered firearm? It took almost 6 years from the theft to get it back & almost 5 years it sat in evidence w/o the neighboring LEO department knowing it was recovered and the felon to be processed through our so called justice system.

I did not get back my custom made leather holster it was in when stolen, but it did have 3 of the eight Hydra-Shoks that were in it. I am thrilled to get back my stout little pistol. I ordered some factory new magazines and spent a few hours getting the rust off it from sitting in a plastic bag in an evidence lock up.
 

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wncdeerhunter

Old Mossy Horns
“The first indication that the Rutherford county even knew the firearm had been recovered was the phone call they received to check me pick up the 2 stolen firearms. Cleveland county is the next county east of mine and NEVER contacted the RCSD to let them know it was recovered.”

In reference to the above, I highly doubt that’s the case if the firearm was entered in NCIC as stolen. Your sheriffs office would have received a “hit confirmation” and notification at the time it was recovered. Your agency would have also been made aware when conducting annual NCIC validations. Perhaps the ball was dropped but then saying they were never notified is very unlikely.
 

Dick

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
our court systems are a joke. But nothing can be done until the evidence is released. Why tell the original owner until they can give it back? They are probably just trying to avoid. the constant phone calls asking 'is it ready yet'.😬
 

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
our court systems are a joke. But nothing can be done until the evidence is released. Why tell the original owner until they can give it back? They are probably just trying to avoid. the constant phone calls asking 'is it ready yet'.😬
The point of concern for me was the lack of communication between LEO organizations in adjacent counties. I never said they should have called me when recovered. Add this to the “common sense “ BS gun laws being rammed through and everyone should at least raise an eyebrow. Re-read and you will see this concern being raised.
 

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
“The first indication that the Rutherford county even knew the firearm had been recovered was the phone call they received to check me pick up the 2 stolen firearms. Cleveland county is the next county east of mine and NEVER contacted the RCSD to let them know it was recovered.”

In reference to the above, I highly doubt that’s the case if the firearm was entered in NCIC as stolen. Your sheriffs office would have received a “hit confirmation” and notification at the time it was recovered. Your agency would have also been made aware when conducting annual NCIC validations. Perhaps the ball was dropped but then saying they were never notified is very unlikely.
That is exactly what the detective told me. They were never notified. He said the only indication it was recovered is when Cleveland called Rutherford county SD to come pick up 2 recovered firearms. Just retelling the story with the information I was given, with no way to verify the veracity of details on communications.
 

stiab

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
The gun was an Astra A75 9mm.
Great guns, and at one time they held the distinction of being the world's smallest 9mm. That was back before all the micro 9's we have today. The A75 was also made in .40 and .45, I had a .40.
 

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
Great guns, and at one time they held the distinction of being the world's smallest 9mm. That was back before all the micro 9's we have today. The A75 was also made in .40 and .45, I had a .40.
I certainly like mine and was mad it was the one stolen. Hard to find nice ones nowadays. I would like to find one of the 45s, but they are somewhat uncommon. The factory mags for mine are stamped 9mm on one side & .40 on the other side. I actually like the weight of the metal frame, especially with heavier grain bullets.
 

wncdeerhunter

Old Mossy Horns
That is exactly what the detective told me. They were never notified. He said the only indication it was recovered is when Cleveland called Rutherford county SD to come pick up 2 recovered firearms. Just retelling the story with the information I was given, with no way to verify the veracity of details on communications.
In that case, sounds like someone dropped the ball
 

LR308

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I had a my vehicle stolen along with my glock 23, while I was at a Christmas party in Charlotte. We got the car back 2 days later, but no firearm. Fast forward many years and I get a voice mail from Mecklenburg County Sheriff Department saying my gun was recovered. I called back, and was told there was a mistake. My gun wasn't recovered. I can guarantee if this would have happened in my current county, I would have the gun back in my possession.
 

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
In that case, sounds like someone dropped the ball
That is probably the case in Cleveland county. We have a new Sheriff here and he has been busting balls and his department is nabbing drug dealers left & right. Most likely the justice system will turn them loose, but that is another story.
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
I know some police men in a certain Triad town and they are ALWAYS selling guns and have guns to sell. I know for sure how they get some.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Back in 2017 I had a pistol stolen from the center console of my locked car in my driveway. My car was not the only one in the neighborhood that was burglarized and there was at least one other hand gun stolen. 2 deputies & a detective came to the house, report filed and then radio silence.

The gun was an Astra A75 9mm. Not a popular, expensive or oft spoken of firearm. I still had the box and a mag I kept after the gun was stolen. It is a small, single stack, metal frame pistol with a de-cocker. I loved it since it was built like a tank & had digested every handload & fed it with zero issues, even the hotter loads.

Fast forward to 2023, I got a call from a county detective the gun was recently returned & 3 weeks ago I picked it up from the forensics lab.

The gun was still in the evidence bag with the perps name, arresting officer, charges and the recovery date. The gun was stolen in 2017 & recovered 8 months later in 2018. Here is where it gets interesting, it was recovered in Cleveland county in the possession of a felon. It took until the end of March ‘23 for the court case to end and the stolen property to be released from evidence.

The first indication that the Rutherford county even knew the firearm had been recovered was the phone call they received to come pick up the 2 stolen firearms. Cleveland county is the next county east of mine and NEVER contacted the RCSD to let them know it was recovered. This is the details as provided by the detective, I see no reason on his part to tell anything other than the facts.

I find that rather slack & disappointing, considering all the gun control BS being used to crush our rights. I mean, how hard is to lift a phone and call the neighboring county with news on a recovered firearm? It took almost 6 years from the theft to get it back & almost 5 years it sat in evidence w/o the neighboring LEO department knowing it was recovered and the felon to be processed through our so called justice system.

I did not get back my custom made leather holster it was in when stolen, but it did have 3 of the eight Hydra-Shoks that were in it. I am thrilled to get back my stout little pistol. I ordered some factory new magazines and spent a few hours getting the rust off it from sitting in a plastic bag in an evidence lock up.
You think that is slow. Get the numbers run on it and see if it still comes up stolen and wait to see the :donk:donk:donk:donk you go through if they ever get run for some reason with it in your possession by LEO that aren't aware of the case.
 

Deerjager

Old Mossy Horns
You think that is slow. Get the numbers run on it and see if it still comes up stolen and wait to see the :donk:donk:donk:donk you go through if they ever get run for some reason with it in your possession by LEO that aren't aware of the case.
That is a good idea. One thing in my favor is I do have the evidence bag the gun was returned to me in. I have the perp, date of arrest, time of arrest, arresting officer, charges and all pertinent firearm information written on it. I also can home, put the bag in a ziploc in one of my safes. The fingerprints of both forensic techs are on the bag because they handled it without gloves. Call me cynical, but I prefer the term careful. Oh, I also have my copy of the receipt I got at the pick up and that has hand writing & fingerprints.

Like I said, careful, brought on by life experiences & a healthy dose of cynicism.
 
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