Two men were arrested for stealing a firearm. But was it really stealing? A moron of a Seminole County deputy left his firearm in a gas station bathroom, where it was found by a pair of men. One of them refused to pick it up because he was a convicted felon. The other took it with him and sold it for $40.
Both have been arrested for theft of a firearm, and the ex-felon was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. If they get a decent lawyer, they just might beat those charges.
- They didn’t steal the gun- it was left in a public bathroom.
- There is no evidence that the convicted felon ever had possession of the handgun.
- The state could argue that they knew it was a crime because they concealed the handgun when they walked out of the gas station, but a decent lawyer will claim that they concealed it because open carry is illegal in Florida.
The only crime that was committed here in my opinion, is that the Deputy left his firearm where anyone could reach it- with the barrel wedged into a toilet paper roll in the stall of a public bathroom. Those two are no more guilty of stealing that firearm than the deputy is in trafficking firearms.
22 Comments
Differ · September 8, 2024 at 7:22 am
Why would you remove the gun from its holster? If for some unfathomable reason you must do so, put it in the cradle of your pants/underwear so you cannot leave without replacing the gun…..
Southernborne · September 8, 2024 at 8:12 am
So…they didn’t know it wasn’t theirs?
Divemedic · September 8, 2024 at 9:11 am
So if you find a $5 on the ground, is it stealing if you pick it up? What if it is $100?
So instead of $100, what if it’s a knife, or a screwdriver?
Southernborne · September 8, 2024 at 11:25 am
Come on DM, a gun isn’t a five dollar bill. Is it too much to just notify the gas station owner of the gun?
Divemedic · September 8, 2024 at 3:53 pm
So at what point does it become theft?
Southernborne · September 8, 2024 at 5:00 pm
I believe it’s theft when one knowing takes someone else’s property. Yes taking the 5 dollar bill is stealing, but that’s just me I guess. In this case these guys damn well knew that wasn’t their gun.
Divemedic · September 8, 2024 at 5:09 pm
That’s what I am asking you. So you think it’s theft to find a $5 bill. What about a quarter? A penny? At what point do you think that someone should not go to jail for picking up something that is left in a public place?
Southernborne · September 8, 2024 at 6:26 pm
Well we use to have a well functioning justice system with laws that spelled that out. I would be completely fine with the laws we had in say 1960 and the folks we had enforcing it. But I think you already know that!
GuardDuck · September 8, 2024 at 11:33 am
https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-charges/unattended-change-and-found-money-theft.html
Divemedic · September 8, 2024 at 3:55 pm
So you turn in every bit of money that you find? Quarters?
GuardDuck · September 9, 2024 at 12:40 pm
Nope. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible to be charged criminally for it.
The more valuable the find, the more traceable the find, the more reportable the find – the more likely the possibility of prosecution.
Divemedic · September 9, 2024 at 12:44 pm
So if it isn’t traceable, it should be illegal, but if you can get away with it, congratulations?
GuardDuck · September 9, 2024 at 8:47 pm
Ain’t saying it right, logical, or consistent. But it is the reality.
A couple bucks on the ground ‘probably’ won’t end up hurting. A bag of 100’s that just fell out the back of an armored car and people are going to be looking for it.
Divemedic · September 10, 2024 at 5:58 am
Whether someone is looking for it or not, I just don’t think finding something that’s abandoned is the same as stealing
Steve S6 · September 8, 2024 at 8:20 am
Sadusky : Someone’s got to go to prison, Ben. (National Treasure)
SP RN · September 8, 2024 at 2:39 pm
Unfortunately with leos and prosecutors like these, the punishment has already been served up by the process. As you said, they aughta be able to beat the charge by hiring a good lawyer, but that won’t come inexpensively.
And there’s much I don’t know: are these two notorious d-bags who have skated on numerous previous occasions so they’re being charged for ‘something’ (like Capone being imprisoned for tax evasion when he couldn’t be gotten on murder charges)… or is officialdom corrupt… or both, which these days is my default belief.
Vlad · September 8, 2024 at 8:32 pm
“are these two notorious d-bags who have skated on numerous previous occasions so they’re being charged for ‘something’”
But that’s not how our legal system is supposed to work.
The cops, prosecutors and judges do not get a free pass just because you are a shitbag.
If they had such powers, how long would it take to end up on death row because they know you, don’t like you and are willing to concoct a fairy tale that ends up with a needle in your arm?
This is how The Innocence Project has gotten some people off of death row. The cops “knew” that Joe Dirtbag had done things in the past, prosecutors buried exculpatory evidence and lo and behold, he awaits the death house.
In the OP, 2 guys found an Sig 320. They may or may not have known it was Officer Dumbfuck’s weapon, those facts aren’t stated. If Officer DF wanted to keep it, he shouldn’t have left it.
C · September 9, 2024 at 5:13 am
I’ll bet they’re getting charged because it was a cop that left his gun there. If it had been John Doe they’d have done fuck all and be saying “You should’ve kept up with it.”
Dave · September 9, 2024 at 11:04 am
Guess I better be careful with my metal detecting hobby. Looks like I could go to jail for that penny.
Divemedic · September 9, 2024 at 11:19 am
That’s my point- if someone abandons property, whether that is a $5 bill, a quarter, or a firearm, it isn’t stealing to pick it up. Hey, the nice thing to do is return it, but I don’t think that someone should go to prison for picking up property that someone else abandoned.
To say otherwise criminalizes everything from finding pennies in the sand at the beach to dumpster diving.
If you want to claim, as was said above “a gun isn’t the same thing as a $5 bill” you are falling into the trap that the left likes to lay out- that a gun isn’t just a tool, but a death machine that isn’t subject to the same rules as other tools.
Southernborne · September 9, 2024 at 12:25 pm
So a guy gets out of his car and his keys fall out of his pocket. He doesn’t notice and goes in the store. You come along and see the keys and start the car and leave. All ok right?
Divemedic · September 9, 2024 at 12:42 pm
In your example, the keys were not stolen.
The car was.