Armslist Sale Gone Bad

[TenDriver]

One of my shooting buddies was relieved recently of a pair of Glocks he listed on Armslist.

The transaction was to take place in a well trafficked, Gander Mtn parking lot. When he arrived, a decent looking car, as arranged pulled up and a man hopped out, shook hands and started checking over the pistol. The next thing my friend knows is there's a second guy with a Hi Point aimed sideways at his face. My friends other pistol was in his truck and stolen as well. Even if he had been carrying it, there was no time to react in my opinion since he had a severe lapse in SA.

Both juvenile idiots were arrested shortly after and one pistol has been recovered.

Be careful out there. We have a criminal element using Armslist. Keep your guard up.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Wow...stealing from someone who is obviously armed seems like a Darwin Award nomination.

 

[Jackal]

I always leave a reliable friend in the vehicle with a handgun and an AR15 concealed while I make my firearms transactions from Armslist or Craigslist. If things go poorly for me, they will likely go poorly for them too. My point is, you should always try to take a friend with you, strength in numbers and all that, especially when they have a clear vantage point....

 

[USAF_Vet]

I do most of my gun sales in the parking lot of the local sheriff's department. There is a Michigan state police outpost close by I could use, too. Much less likely to have a thug jack you only feet away from the cops, court and jail cell.

 

[paintballdude902]

agreed. me and my best friend from high school take turns riding shotgun for each other when we do f2f sales

 

[bainter1212]

I do most of my gun sales in the parking lot of the local sheriff's department. There is a Michigan state police outpost close by I could use, too. Much less likely to have a thug jack you only feet away from the cops, court and jail cell.

This is the correct way to do it. Either right in front of the police station or someplace that has a LOT of cameras. Dash cams have gotten real cheap too, simply setting up a dash cam on your dash might catch enough video to identify the suspects.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Meeting at a public range would be better. Glad the culprits were caught.

 

[Walkalong]

Yep, lesson learned. And as the OP posted, be careful out there.

 

[Potatohead]

Wow Ten, you knew those fellas? I posted a thread with the article from the Huntsville Times a few days ago. I will try to find it and re post the link, though it was poorly written.



Here is the thread with article linked
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=739888&highlight=(short+article

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Sad to hear crap like this happening to honest hardworking folks.

 

[TenDriver]

I don't know the culprits, but the victim is one of my shooting buddies. He told me about it last night while showing me his replacement carry pistol. He ended up getting a Kimber something or other. I had been in his case about spending a bunch of money on multiple pistols since he's trying to go off to school next year and had been pushing him to sell off one of the Glocks. Oops...

I usually go with him anytime he buys or sells something from Armslist. He said he was in a hurry that day so he didn't call as I was at work.

Turned out the Hi Point he was held up with was unloaded. More than one responding officer told him he should have been carrying the other Glock and opened fire on the guys.

 

[MtnCreek]

Did he have any phone conversations with the guy before agreeing to meet? I would like to think I could tell from a phone conversation if someone were the type to hold a hi-point sideways.

 

[zdc1775]

That's pretty brazen as most every time I go there an HPD cruiser is sitting right outside the door. Glad to here your friend wasn't hurt.

 

[TenDriver]

I think everything was through email.

 

[Noah]

When I do an Armslist transaction, I try to set up the meet at the next nearby gun show, in the show, not the parking lot. It's an excuse to go to the gun show, and it'd be pretty hard to pull a fast one there.

If I ever were to do an Armslist type transaction in a public parking lot, I would definitely have my twin brother riding shotgun with a long gun, like a previous poster said. I'd trust my life to Ben every day of the week.

He may be a little bossy, but he's got my back and he can shoot.

 

[breakingcontact]

While buying or selling a gun i have my concealed carry gun on me.

 

[Sam1911]

More than one responding officer told him he should have been carrying the other Glock and opened fire on the guys.

Yet another example of why one should REALLY not take self-defense advice from cops.

There are several good defensive lessons to be learned from this. "If I'd have had my pistol I should have yanked it out and opened fire on the guys," is not one of them. Sheesh.

 

[texasgun]

yeah... sometime meeting at a dealer and having him process the transaction is not such a bad option. or at least meet in a WELL frequented place during day-time like a parking lot...

 

[Tirod]

If you are not selling to someone you know with a background check first - however cursory- then you are selling to Joe Unknown.

I recently sold some firearms FTF and did it all parked on the street next to where I work (no guns on the property policy.) I knew my buyers having them either as distant relatives or customers I had dealt with in the past. So, when the last one came up with his hoodie over his head - he's a jokester - I got it. No problem.

Having dealt with the common public for years, I know about 10 -15% of them will flat out steal, lie, cheat, and rob you if they can get away with it. FTF should be in plain view in a public place to your advantage. It's not out of place to say that the buyer shouldn't have anything to hide, so close proximity to the cops shouldn't be a problem. They can take it or leave it.

I'm glad to hear nobody is doing this at home. I've had difficulties with car buyers in those circumstances, a very large biker was on our doorstep who happened to chance by looking at my daughters car. He didn't seem to expect me at home. I now only give out the address to those who email me for some kind of tracking just in case things go bad. It may not be a valid address but at least there's a trail the forensics guys can follow.

Frankly, I expect the next level will be quietly running video of the transaction and having a record of what happened, "Russian traffic cam" style. At the very least, if you are getting bad vibes about a potential purchaser, telling them that's going to happen will sort them out quickly. And having it for the ones who are brazen enough gives the cops what they need.

 

[TenDriver]

Yet another example of why one should REALLY not take self-defense advice from cops.

There are several good defensive lessons to be learned from this. "If I'd have had my pistol I should have yanked it out and opened fire on the guys," is not one of them. Sheesh.

I can't put words in their mouth, but I would think they were referring to the time when he was at gunpoint. From what he told me I think his lack of SA would have prevented him from drawing until after the fact, which would have gotten him in trouble. He knows it too. I believe the lesson was learned here and he won't be doing this on his own again.

Generally I would have been with him and armed. Judging by the fact that a parking lot full of people didn't stop the robbery before it happened and my friend didn't get hurt, I'm glad I wasn't there.

 

[HOOfan_1]

yeah... sometime meeting at a dealer and having him process the transaction is not such a bad option. or at least meet in a WELL frequented place during day-time like a parking lot...

Yeah on most non-rare guns, I don't imagine the money difference would be that much. I don't sell my guns EVER, but if I did, I think the money lost by going through an FFL or simply selling it to an FFL might be worth it. No FTF for me. I have worked with the public too much to ever trust strangers.

 

[TenDriver]

yeah... sometime meeting at a dealer and having him process the transaction is not such a bad option. or at least meet in a WELL frequented place during day-time like a parking lot...

In this case the well travelled / busy location did nothing to prevent the robbery. It happened in a Gander Mtn parking lot during daylight / business hours.

I'm not even sure meeting at an FFL would have stopped this.

 

[HOOfan_1]

In this case the well travelled / busy location did nothing to prevent the robbery. It happened in a Gander Mtn parking lot during daylight / business hours.

I'm not even sure meeting at an FFL would have stopped this.

I doubt the perps would have agreed to meet inside the FFL. They had an easy get away here, not so much if they had to leave their vehicle.

If they robbed him of his guns in a store full of guns...well they are even dumber than they originally seem.

 

[Hometeached1]

I do most of my gun sales in the parking lot of the local sheriff's department. There is a Michigan state police outpost close by I could use, too. Much less likely to have a thug jack you only feet away from the cops, court and jail cell.

Yeah, just not at change of watch.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I read the news article about this. We had a veteran killed in Indianapolis in a Craiglist deal gone bad. Be vigilant!