Stolen Firearms Question
I have a relative that their house was broken into the other day. A revolver was stolen, but they do not know what the serial number was. It was registered in Virginia, is there any way to find out the serial number? Can any one give any help in this matter.
Thank You.
Thank You.
0
-
if it was a store purchase just go back there and they'll give it to you or if it was a p2P purchase you'll have to find the seller and hopefully he'll have the info for you.
PJ
If nobody seen you do it, how could you have done it. NRA Endowment Member, AF&AM, Shriner Life Member, A.B.A.T.E. of Illinois "Chicago Chapter" Founding Member & Board Member0 -
I believe it was purchased in the 60's, so it was some time ago. is it possible that local police or courthouse would have any registration records? 0 -
call you local police office and ask.
I WOULD RATHER BE DUCK HUNTING.0 -
Any luck with your proablem?
Also chesk the courthouse?0 -
Hello as a general rule Va. locations do not have serial # info given to police dept. In my area the sheriff dept does the C.C. permits many years ago they required more info to issure a permit and they had serial # on the gun you had for the permit. BATF can do a serch on dealer records but use it only on guns used in a crime. 0 -
dealer that "registered it" should have it - there is no registration in VA and the State destroys the background check info after a short time - good luck 0 -
For what it's worth, this is what I did...Prob. won't apply, but someone else may get some use out of it.
I live in Va. also and about a month after I bought a stainless Smith 645, some thug bashed my car window and took it from the center console. I, like most everybody, hadn't written down the serial, but when the police asked for it, I remembered I had been pulled over for an expired tag about 2 weeks before this. Being a CC permit holder and all around good citizen, I told the officer I had a gun in the car and he ran it through the database as a check. Of course it came out clean (and I only got a warning for the tag), but the officer investigating the theft was able to have the dispatcher, on the spot, go through the records and find the serial that was called in on the earlier check. Although I still haven't recovered the Smith, you can bet your aspirin bottle I have all my serials written down in the safe, on an Excel spreadsheet and backed up to a CD-ROM now...
As a side note, the police were both in the same jurisdiction, Roanoke County Police.
Ben0 -
Here's what I do:
I have a small book of gun type, caliber, barrel length, finish, serial number, date of purchase, maker and so on.
I keep this locked separately from my guns. No, it doesn't go into the gun safe. If a thief gains entry to the safe, he'll also take the list to thwart recovery efforts.
The book is secured where it would not easily be found.
Now, here's my backup: I've photocopied all the pages of that book and put copies in each of my two vehicles.
Why?
Well, if I'm away from home or on vacation, and a gun is stolen from my vehicle or campsite, I can provide the police with its serial number within minutes. Minutes!
This sure beats having to shorten your vacation or hunt to get home to those serial numbers.
So, even if the thief finds my book of serial numbers at home, I'll still have the photocopied list in either of my two vehicles.
You MUST keep a list of serial numbers today. Without it, recovering stolen guns is almost impossible.
By the way, in the U.S. all guns reported stolen are entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer. This entry never expires. Only the original agency that reported the stolen gun (local police, sheriff, FBI, etc.) can remove it from the NCIC listing.
When I was a reporter in Idaho, I did a little story on a stolen 8mm Mauser. It had been reported stolen nearly 10 years before from a Dallas, Texas home. It was recovered in an Idaho pawnshop. That rifle was shipped back to Texas, to its rightful owner.
My brother had a .38 revolver stolen from his Memphis, Tenn., home. It showed up two years later in a felon's car in Shreveport, La. The police in Louisiana shipped it to the Memphis Police, who turned it over to my brother one he presented identification.
In both instances, it was the serial number that got those guns back to their owner.
Without a serial number, you can pretty much kiss your gun goodbye.
"A hit with a .22 is better than a miss with a .44!"0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
8 comments