Police recovered my stolen gun. I now live out of state.

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SkunkApe

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A couple of years ago, I had some guns stolen in a burglary in Wyoming. One of them, I didn't claim on my insurance as they police recovered it a few days after the crime. The perpetrator was apprehended and the gun was held as evidence for the trial.

Now, the trial is over and I've since moved to another state. A far away state. The police called yesterday and said I can now pick up my gun. Since the cost of airfare equals/exceeds the value of the gun, I asked if there were other options. I was told by the police that if they had a notarized affidavit, they could give the gun to a friend I have who still lives in the state. I'm thinking I'd then have him ship it to my FFL.

Thoughts on the legality of this? Sounds pretty questionable to me.

(I know, I know: ask a lawyer. The trouble is, again, the cost. The gun is worth perhaps $800.)
 
I don't see anything questionable about out, but maybe you could skip a step and ask the police to hand it directly to an FFL in town.
 
I believe police also have some leeway in ability to ship or receive firearms. they may be able to ship it to an FFL in your new state of residence.
 
I would have thought that if you already own the rifle, they ought to be able to ship it directly to you, but I can understand the caution. Odd that you may end up having to do a 4473 form for a gun you already own.
 
I don't think this is considered a transfer as the gun is already your property.

Someone I know in PA had their stolen gun recovered in LA. Police in LA shipped it to his police department in PA who gave it back to him.

State laws differ bit that's what happened in his case.
 
I would have thought that if you already own the rifle, they ought to be able to ship it directly to you,....
I don't think this is considered a transfer as the gun is already your property.....

This has been covered perhaps a dozen times or more times on this board. Transfer is a matter of possession, not ownership. Any change in possession, even without a change in ownership, is a transfer.
 
Thanks for the responses.

The part I'm worried about is the police giving the gun to my friend, so he can ship it to my FFL. How can they just give him a gun (even with a notarized letter from me) without doing a background check on him?

Note: The police in Wyoming who have my gun have not given me shipping as an option. The options they gave me are:

1) Pick it up in person.
2) Have a friend with a notarized letter from me pick it up.
3) Hold it there indefinitely.

Also, it's a handgun, not a long gun, if that matters at all.
 
My logic works like this:

1) Who owns the gun? Clearly, me. I never lawfully transferred the gun to the thief or to the police.

2) Since my friend and I are residents of different states, I can't lawfully transfer ownership to him. (Neither can the police, as they aren't the owners.)

3) The question is, then, is it legal for me, using the police as my agent, to temporarily "loan" the gun to my friend, long enough for him to get it to an FFL and ship it to my FFL?
 
I'm thinking now the best way is to contact a Wyoming FFL and ask them if they'll do the pick up and transfer, with a notarized letter from me. Leave my buddy out of it.
 
My logic works like this:

1) Who owns the gun? Clearly, me. I never lawfully transferred the gun to the thief or to the police.

2) Since my friend and I are residents of different states, I can't lawfully transfer ownership to him. (Neither can the police, as they aren't the owners.)

3) The question is, then, is it legal for me, using the police as my agent, to temporarily "loan" the gun to my friend, long enough for him to get it to an FFL and ship it to my FFL?
Logic doesn't mean anything until one has done the necessary research and determined the applicable law.

The place to start is Wyoming law. The police in every State will, from time to time, have to deal with the problem of returning a stolen gun to its rightful owner. It's a reasonably common occurrence, and law enforcement agencies need guidance on how to go about it. So we can expect that in each State there will be some combination of statutes, administrative regulations, and/or department policies and procedures (customarily signed off by whatever legal department, e. g., the county counsel's office, the city attorney, or the Attorney General, provides legal services to the law enforcement agency) telling a law enforcement agency how to return a recovered stolen gun to its owner.

Apparently no one knows what the law on the question is in Wyoming, and no one is doing the research. Without that foundation, this discussion is a waste of time.
 
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