Even though my car is secure in my garage I always keep it locked at nite. Not that I leave anything in it to steal but just saying.
I HATE a Thief - Stolen Handgun
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@IUHoosier429 Sorry this happen to you and your family brother .
A clamshell lockbox cost $20. if you insist on leaving one in your vehicle, which btw is a terrible idea, at least make it moderately difficult to steal. locked cars don't even slow them down.
azsportpilot
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my alarm system is set up to go off it the garage door(s) are raised, you may want to look into this for future, i use SimpliSafe, cheap, easy to install, effective and no contract, avoid ADT like the plague
pikepole20
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I have CPI and recently added my garage door to the system as well. If alarm is set, and the garage is entered the alarm goes off. The outside cameras can catch them coming or going. I used to have the garage not on the system. I realized I had too much stuff in the garage.
Bezep1
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I have learned to cover the exterior with cameras. They come in very handy. Sorry about your theftMy wife thinks she left it open when she got home from work late Saturday eveningShe works in an unimaginably stressful job with critically ill and dying kids.
I didn't want to "throw her under the bus" in my original post. Mistakes happen - Lord knows I make them constantly - and literally the only person I'm angry at is whoever came onto/into my property to commit a crime.
We live in a nice suburban neighborhood, know all our neighbors, know each others' kids' and dogs' names, help each other out, cheers beers. It's safe here. It's great here. Kids leave bikes in the yards, people leave their cars parked with the windows down. Just an honest mistake after a horrible workday, and an expensive yet valuable lesson. It could have been worse.
New security camera mounted in the garage; another is going up outside that corner of the house tomorrow.
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We were pretty slack about locking the car up also. I remove my handgun from the car when get out at home. It goes back and forth with me.
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IUHoosier429
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Thanks for the conversation, folks. My wife is beating herself up something terrible over this. She didn't sleep a wink last night. That hurts me way worse than losing a firearm. With new cameras in and more going up, I'm also connecting that smart garage control today and tying it into our security system.
Our neighborhood is aware, folks have reviewed their video doorbells, and a bit of info from a few neighbors has been shared with the PD. Every little bit of detail counts.
This really appears to be a simple drive-by snatch and grab. Some kids/tweakers/both driving through these nicer, quieter neighborhoods looking for cars with the windows down, packages forgotten on the porch, and garage doors left open. Turn off the headlights, run in between the two vehicles, open both doors and grab what you can with both hands in ~10 seconds, run back out and take off. They simply managed to score a bigger one with us.
We'll both do things a bit differently going forward, but I have to again count my blessings and say this could have been so much worse.
Our neighborhood is aware, folks have reviewed their video doorbells, and a bit of info from a few neighbors has been shared with the PD. Every little bit of detail counts.
This really appears to be a simple drive-by snatch and grab. Some kids/tweakers/both driving through these nicer, quieter neighborhoods looking for cars with the windows down, packages forgotten on the porch, and garage doors left open. Turn off the headlights, run in between the two vehicles, open both doors and grab what you can with both hands in ~10 seconds, run back out and take off. They simply managed to score a bigger one with us.
We'll both do things a bit differently going forward, but I have to again count my blessings and say this could have been so much worse.
Jshrad
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It is NOT her fault or yours. This is a thing that happens sometimes and you will adjust the way you do things. I leave a lot of stuff in my car and don't always lock it up like I should but all the responsibility is on the thief, it was their decision to rob you. I leave a backup firearm and gear in my car at all times, I take reasonable precautions to secure it and hide it but if someone bypasses that and is intent on breaking and stealing it's on them and them alone. You didn't leave your firearm on the street, it was behind closed doors on your private property. You had a negative experience and you shared it with us and we can all learn from it. It happens. Don't feel bad wife, you didn't do anything wrong at all, I don't fort Knox my things all the time.
It’s the thief. I should be able to leave any damn thing I want in my locked car. Guarantee you that damn thief has done it before , caught & released. Make the punishment bad enough that they never steal again!
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I guess it was my fault that I owned guns when my house was broken into and my guns stolen back in 1994. Yes the doors were locked and the scumbag(s), busted open the back door, but it is my fault for owning them. If only I hadn't owned any guns, then none would have been stolen.
If we let the government take away all our guns, then we don't have to worry about any guns being stolen and crime would go away.
See how stupid that sounds? Same type reasoning as blaming someone for leaving a gun in a car. Start putting the blame where it belongs, on the low life scumbags that are out stealing stuff and doing the crimes. Are y'all also blaming the guns for doing crimes instead of the person when a "mass shooting takes place"?
If we let the government take away all our guns, then we don't have to worry about any guns being stolen and crime would go away.
See how stupid that sounds? Same type reasoning as blaming someone for leaving a gun in a car. Start putting the blame where it belongs, on the low life scumbags that are out stealing stuff and doing the crimes. Are y'all also blaming the guns for doing crimes instead of the person when a "mass shooting takes place"?
More guns are being stolen out of cars in alarming trend across the nation
At least 180 cities reported increases in gun thefts from cars from 2019 to 2020. They are now the largest source of stolen guns, a new data analysis found.
www.nbcnews.com
Had one stolen out of my truck, parked at home several years ago. They found it on a previously convicted felon when he was arrested on unrelated charges. They had to hold it for evidence. I finally got it back 3 years later.
Several months after being told that they found it...the sheriff's office called to ask me if I had found it or found the thief. Jeeeeze!
Several months after being told that they found it...the sheriff's office called to ask me if I had found it or found the thief. Jeeeeze!
A piece of shit thief don't belong anywhere near my property. I also couldn't care less if he blew the brains out of his criminal buddies or rivals.
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Yeah?
Well…I reckon I could take my rifle out of the truck, sling it and carry it into wherever I’m going…but I don’t.
It stays in the truck and not in plain view.
Give her time to process. Not feeling safe in your own home is a horrible feeling. Hate this happened y'all.
What's done is done. In general about the material loss, "ain't nothing but a thing", and things can be replaced, despite the inconveniences.
And for things that might not be replaceable, STILL nothing but a thing.
You and your family being safe is what really counts, and you'll have to reassure her of this.
As for any potential harm the thief might cause someone in the future... that's on them. If they're going to harm someone, they'll do it regardless.
Take whatever lessons there are to be had and move on. That's all anybody can do.
Damn skippy. You should be able to leave anything you want on your front porch without having to worry about some lowlife taking it.
Let's spread that blame around a little. Some of it belongs on the revolving door judicial system we have devolved into.
Sorry to hear this. Where in Durham?
Tell her you can’t change the past , it’s impossible. Just make sure that you are not the cause of repeating history. Hold her head high as lesson learned and always forward.
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Welp, bumping this thread because...
...the MFing thing turned back up Currently in police department custody in a neighboring jurisdiction. Holy hell.
...the MFing thing turned back up
Currently in police department custody in a neighboring jurisdiction. Holy hell.
They tell you what the guy was charged with? Had a Sig stolen from my car years ago. They got it back and told me it was used in a home invasion robbery 😳Glad you got it back. Hopefully the thief installed an auto switch on it for you!Welp, bumping this thread because...
...the MFing thing turned back up
@tanstaafl72555 called that one. Glad it turned back up and hopefully the perp got a class H felony hung on him for his troubles.
Had my home broken into March 2007 while my wife was at work and I was in Iraq. Had a couple guns and a Xbox with a few cameras stolen. $10K worth of my wife’s jewelry was left on her dresser.Welp, bumping this thread because...
...the MFing thing turned back up
March 2008 I got a call at 0200 in the morning from a Elizabeth town cop asking, “Hey Mr Fuller you have a 1911 reported stolen”. I said yes and talked with a Detective the next day and found it was found at a DUI checkpoint in the possession of a drunk illegal with a good amount of coke on him. I was told I could get it back after his trial.
March 2009 guess who is back in Iraq??🤣 My wife emailed me she got a call from the detective and she with my power of attorney can go and pick up my 1911, dude who stole it got his 6mo of probation and time served.
She sent it back to Kimber to see if they could fix it because it looked like hammered dog s*** and Kimber rebuilt it and put on the KimPro finish for zero cost. I mean the only original part it came back with was the frame.
Hope your luck is as good!
This is how I know your wife must be pretty hot.
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I had a Glock 26 stolen around 13 years ago out of my truck in front of my last house in Matthews. Had a neighborhood cookout one Saturday afternoon. The whole family road our bikes over there. Had the cookout and started playing kickball which was a common occurrence. Dark clouds came in pretty quick and it started raining. I road my bike home to grab my truck so I could load the bikes up and give everyone a ride home. I got absolutely soaked. On the way back over I took my gun off and stuck it in the center console. Picked everyone up, came home and unloaded and forgot my gun was in the truck. Ended up having kids come around that night and broke into 10 vehicles, 7 were unlocked and mine and 2 more they broke windows. They targeted the three because guns were stolen out of all of them.
I had a very good idea who it was and told the police. Matthews detective was great to work with and he kept me up to date during the whole process. Charlotte Mecklenburg ended up finding my gun 6 months later in a traffic stop. I would have never known if the Matthews detective hadn't reached out. Took another 4 years to get it back.
I had a very good idea who it was and told the police. Matthews detective was great to work with and he kept me up to date during the whole process. Charlotte Mecklenburg ended up finding my gun 6 months later in a traffic stop. I would have never known if the Matthews detective hadn't reached out. Took another 4 years to get it back.
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Pretty wildly random. I got home from a trip to Finland about a week ago and had a voicemail from a detective at my local police department.
Apparently Indianapolis metro police recovered it during a routine traffic stop that turned into a drug arrest. The passenger had my gun in her purse. She admitted ownership to officers, but wouldn't say how she acquired it when they told her it was stolen. They let her go
They arrested the driver for weed but let her walk. And prosecutors did nothing either. Disgraceful. And this was back in April, FFS. Although IMPD knew the gun was stolen, they didn't check with or otherwise report its recovery to any outside agencies.It's been a bunch of hoops for me to jump through so far, and it's not over. Was able to connect with the guy I bought the gun from over two years ago. He graciously met me at a notary and signed a bill of sale, per IMPD instructions since it was a private sale and I needed proof of purchase (apparently a backdated BOS from 2.5 years ago is fine...). Made a 40-minute drive down to the government building and paying to park on Friday, only to ride down an elevator with convicted sex offenders and then be told by the property room manager that IMPD gave me the wrong info about recovering the gun, the same wrong info they give out all the time. So I went back home empty handed. I will try, again, sometime this week. Fingers crossed.
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When I picked mine up in downtown Charlotte I had to park a few blocks away from the property pickup area. Waited 30 minutes or so for them to retrieve the gun. When the officer brought the gun to the counter, it was in a box with a magazine and nine random rounds in a bag. I signed for it and the guy dumped everything on the counter and said I couldn’t have the cardboard box. I asked him if I could have something to carry everything in and he declined. I was honestly a little dumbfounded. He also told me not to put it in my pocket while leaving.
I put the rounds and the magazine in my pocket, walked past the front desk carrying a zip tied handgun and stuck it in my back pocket as soon as I cleared the door. Who thinks walking around a big city with a gun in their hand is a good idea?
I put the rounds and the magazine in my pocket, walked past the front desk carrying a zip tied handgun and stuck it in my back pocket as soon as I cleared the door. Who thinks walking around a big city with a gun in their hand is a good idea?
hmmmmm. My glock 22 was recovered from a lowlife who was arrested for slapping his girlfriend around. It was actually unusable on recovery, as some clown had attempted to melt off the "safety trigger" doodad that Glock builds into the trigger (have to depress the inside lever on trigger for weapon to fire). He wound up ruining the trigger.Pretty wildly random. I got home from a trip to Finland about a week ago and had a voicemail from a detective at my local police department.
Apparently Indianapolis metro police recovered it during a routine traffic stop that turned into a drug arrest. The passenger had my gun in her purse. She admitted ownership to officers, but wouldn't say how she acquired it when they told her it was stolen. They let her go
It's been a bunch of hoops for me to jump through so far, and it's not over. Was able to connect with the guy I bought the gun from over two years ago. He graciously met me at a notary and signed a bill of sale, per IMPD instructions since it was a private sale and I needed proof of purchase (apparently a backdated BOS from 2.5 years ago is fine...). Made a 40-minute drive down to the government building and paying to park on Friday, only to ride down an elevator with convicted sex offenders and then be told by the property room manager that IMPD gave me the wrong info about recovering the gun, the same wrong info they give out all the time. So I went back home empty handed. I will try, again, sometime this week. Fingers crossed.
Turns out police had put it into an "unclaimed" section where cops can assume they are abandoned and bid on them. I guess someone wanted it. Anyway, they found it and notified me. I did not have to produce anything "proving" it was mine, as I guess notifying them with the serial number was sufficient proof. It did take about 3 months and a payment (can't remember what for) of about 80 dollars, and then I had to get the trigger replaced and reset. One of the member in here did it for me (and kindly refused to take pay for it). I wound up putting a 9 mm barrel in it and I *think* I still have it. A few years back I got rid of several weapons I just thought were redundant, and that may have been one of the ones gone.
I guess I need to get inventory, as I have SEVERAL glocks, still.
Probly about as good an outcome as I could have expected.
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Maybe 15 years ago, I picked up a pistol from the Mecklenburg Sheriff's Dept., ( another story how it got there ). I got the pistol and the magazine, they kept the ammo.
.
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Second trip downtown, second bust. Was able to connect with the proper office this time, despite the hours on the door reading, quote "Open 8:00-11:30-3:00 p.m. Closed for lunch." 🤨
They asked me if the person who was caught with the gun was under any criminal indictments. I was like, "You're the police department - you tell me." I then had to fill out a bunch of forms, complete a background check, and had a transgendered woman fingerprint me. I asked he/she if I could purchase a few extra copies because I have a couple SBR-ready guns. He/she asked me what an SBR is, and then said no to the copies. Oh well.
Absolute, jaw dropping clown show down there. They said the background check would take three weeks, and if I don't hear back by then to come back to the office. I asked if this process would secure my gun from being accidentally destroyed while pending. They said no.
At least I didn't have to mingle with any sex offenders this time.
They asked me if the person who was caught with the gun was under any criminal indictments. I was like, "You're the police department - you tell me." I then had to fill out a bunch of forms, complete a background check, and had a transgendered woman fingerprint me. I asked he/she if I could purchase a few extra copies because I have a couple SBR-ready guns. He/she asked me what an SBR is, and then said no to the copies. Oh well.
Absolute, jaw dropping clown show down there. They said the background check would take three weeks, and if I don't hear back by then to come back to the office. I asked if this process would secure my gun from being accidentally destroyed while pending. They said no.
At least I didn't have to mingle with any sex offenders this time.
The standard Indiana runaround.
It was like this back in the 80s when I applied for my concealed carry permit...and the renewals, too. Lafayette PD had ONE DAY during the week set aside for processing these...and ONLY between the hours of 1 pm and 2 pm or something like that.
Not a Monday or Friday, where you might take off from work and make it a three day weekend. Not during lunch hours or early morning/late afternoon when you might be able to slide work around a bit to get it done.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
It had to be TYPED, even though the instructions on the state form said "typed or neatly printed". Which meant you couldn't sit down, fill it out, and turn it back in right then.
Which meant you automatically had to come back at least a week later, same time and place, to turn it in.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S STILL MORE!
When the LPD finished reviewing the paperwork and including their form letter saying they didn't think you really needed a concealed carry permit, you had to come down and pick up your paperwork ANOTHER time on the SAME day/time of the week.
Then mail it off to the state with your $50, all to get that pink slip of a permit (which you weren't allowed to laminate...and it was amazing they allowed you to fold it up to fit in your wallet.)
All that
Now...try renewing it while you're active duty Navy with this kind of tripe going on.
So this doesn't surprise me. Especially for Indianapolis.
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Four decades later, they're still doing everything on paper - even the business cards I was given were printed on regular printer paper and poorly cut out with scissors. I was shocked at how terribly rundown everything was in the building, even by liberal municipal government standards.
Color me shocked.