Chicago PD is easy to work with on getting stolen guns back. They do it a lot, and have it down to a science.

Memphis on the other hand seems to try their damnedest to bury you in hoops and paperwork until you just give up.

got a call from a friend of a friend late last week

he had a pistol stolen, (it was in his vehicle, that was also stolen) and recovered in NY City,

he is currently going thru the hoops to get it back, not sure how long it will take,

FWIW: When a homicide occurs, potential evidence retention and control is a big deal. I don't know if the agency involved that has recovered this stolen gun has a suspect in custody or not, but keep this in mind. If/when the matter is filed, the defendant might not actually go to trial for a year or more. His/her attorney will usually need a lot of time for investigative support and in cases where firearm(s) are involved, it's not unusual for them to request the court to allow their own expert(s) to conduct independent examination(s). With a court order, this gun might not go to the defense's independent firearms examiner for six months or more. With the effects of the COVID-19 issues on the courts, a matter that took a year or more to reach the trial stage could take twice that time or more if the defendant waives his/her right to a speedy trial.

I hope your friend gets his firearm back promptly, but given the complexities involved and the defendant(s) right to an effective defense, I'd warn him that this particular gun may not reach his hands for some period of time (until after the criminal trial has resulted in a verdict), for legitimate reasons beyond political ("gun-control").

quote:

Originally posted by bcereuss:
I had a gun stolen in 2011; it was recovered in a narcotics bust 18 months later in 2013 in Chicago (what are the odds ); returned to me in 2014; case appealed and I sent the gun back to CPD in 2016; returned to me for good in 2018. Lost a VM2 holster and the mag.

Surprisingly, the gun was still in the same shape as when it was stolen.

So, odds are...maybe.

I find this interesting.

When you sent the gun back in 2016, was it out of the goodness of your heart? Did they subpoena it? Or something in between? Did they cover your expenses; freight, transfer fee?

It was (according to my local PD) a “request” from the attorney for the prosecution. I acceded to the request; I’m suspicious if I declined the “request” they could have demanded it..
But, we’ll never know. So, out of the goodness of my heart, I guess!

The whole process of transfer was handled between the police departments, as far as I know. I dropped it off at my local PD and they handled it. No costs incurred by me.

Over the years (and 3 separate thefts) I have had 22 guns stolen. So far 8 of them have been recovered and returned to me. My insurance did not cover all the value and they told me until I had recovered more value than they had not paid me I didn't need to make restitution. Two of the guns came back after 10 years. AFAIK, none of them had been innvolved in crime.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by bcereuss:
It was (according to my local PD) a “request” from the attorney for the prosecution. I acceded to the request; I’m suspicious if I declined the “request” they could have demanded it..
But, we’ll never know. So, out of the goodness of my heart, I guess!

The whole process of transfer was handled between the police departments, as far as I know. I dropped it off at my local PD and they handled it. No costs incurred by me.

I suspect you're right. I don't see what would preclude them from obtaining a search warrant as it is "property relevant and material in a criminal investigation." There will be those that will tell you that you should have said you lost it, sold it (but forgot to whom of course), or had it cut up, but I think just going along with it was the right choice.