Stolen Handgun: BOLO Please

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

I'll probably catch flak for the story attached to this, but so be it...

First, the info:


Stolen in Baton Rouge, just north of campus on Nicholson

S&W Sigma .40 (cheap car gun)
S/N: RAZ0694
Description: Black with flat silver slide; taken in an Uncle Mikes Cordura holster w/ spare mag (doubt it will still be with the gun)
Stock Photo: http://www.impactguns.com/store/media/smith_sw40ve.jpg


Edit: First name and description of the guy

Braden
White male (Possibly Mexican; speaks Spanish fluently), slightly tan complexion
5'10"-5'11", ~180lbs
Black hair, "fade" style, falls forward
Dark brown eyes
Known to be around the Nicholson / E. Roosevelt area and the Burbank / E. Boyd area




Well, I just had a situation that could have easily been life or death, and thankfully resulted only in the loss of a handgun...

Long story short, I knew a guy REALLY well ~8 years ago, and lost contact when I moved. APPARENTLY he changed extremely since then... I recently literally just ran into him out of the blue a week or so ago, and he recognized me. He seemed to be in a bad situation, no car or phone, so I helped him out with a couple of rides.

He asked for a ride at ~5:45 this evening, so I picked him up somewhere to take him to his "house" (guess that was a lie, maybe he was just stupid). Again, long story short; he had seen my handgun under my seat one day and knew where it was. We pulled up where he wanted to be dropped off, he made a dash for the handgun, was able to snatch it and we had a brief struggle over it...

It was holstered, and I was trying to gain control of the weapon and de-holster it and fire while he was trying to pull it from me. I've always lived by the ideology that if someone is trying to take your weapon from your person, it is a clear and immediate threat to you...

He had better leverage on the weapon (as he had gotten the jump on me, as well as grabbed my right arm), and I was unable to put myself in a feasible position to fire safely. He got the weapon, and literally jumped out of the window of my car.


Reported the gun stolen, went through the "Honestly, what were you guys up to?" spiel repeatedly, I guess because it was stolen by someone I was re-associating with after having lost contact for 8 years, and because I am relatively young.



I'm not even upset over the loss of the weapon... I am KICKING MYSELF IN THE ASS for the fact that I was not able to gain control and neutralize the threat. I, of course, am also worried about the hands it is in now and that it is a consequence of my inability.

 

[sandman7925]

Dam!!

 

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

Also pulled up to a campus cop 2-3min after it happened, ~1mi from where it happened (didn't have a cell phone on me)... Told him that I JUST had a handgun stolen by a passenger and told him where he was and the cop responded with "WELL WHY DIDNT YOU PUNCH HIM AND RETAIN THE WEAPON?"

I kind of explained the whole "Because I wasn't getting myself killed", but I was at least expecting some kind of help from him. He said since it was just off campus, he could do nothing. I asked if he could get with BRPD and have a unit dispatched, and he said no.

Basically, I had to ride home, call 911, and then be told to go in person to the police station with my ID to make a report.

 

[Suburbazine]

389-2000

Don't bother 911 unless it's an emergency you can't route yourself.

 

[tbone]

Holy Cow. Thank God you're alright. It's ashame that your kindness was repaid in that way. I wonder if the Police are going to look for this guy?

 

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

389-2000

Don't bother 911 unless it's an emergency you can't route yourself.

Thumbs up on that. I completely forgot the direct number at the time (just moved back to BR), with all that was racing through my head... They did transfer me, however, BRPD was the one that told me to come down and report it stolen. They wouldn't even dispatch someone to the location of the crime :-/

Holy Cow. Thank God you're alright. It's ashame that your kindness was repaid in that way. I wonder if the Police are going to look for this guy?

Thanks for the kind words; and yes, it is jacked up how some people see generosity for gullibility.

I gave them any info I had on him, told them the 2 places I knew of where he either lived or stayed (and the police seemed to know of one of the houses I was talking about, leading me to believe this guy was deep into some ****), and was given a piece of paper with a file number on it... That's probably all that will ever come of it. The cop who took the info was a complete ******* to me... grilled me the whole time about it (Asking stuff such as "So what were you guys doing, smoking some weed or something?"). The other woman in the lobby (who had her purse stolen) was rolling her eyes at him the whole time. He was, however, a street cop... Not a desk guy from what I could tell. I'm not sure if BRPD has their street officers staff the front desk or what, but with (most) other departments I've dealt with, that wasn't the case.

I will be doing boots on the ground work just because I know legitimate people are willing to talk. This guy did this in a highly populated area, is often at 2 nearby gas stations I know of, etc.

Calling up all the pawn / gun shops in the area first thing in the morning to report it as stolen, etc.

 

[themcfarland]

Sorry that happened.. what would you do differently ?

 

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

Sorry that happened.. what would you do differently ?

Honestly... Nothing.

I feel that I did everything I could to retain my weapon, neutralize the threat, and stay safe at the same time. Being chastised by 2 officers for not going beyond the bounds of safety (even though I performed my duty to the fullest extent possible without ending up a victim) just gets under my skin horribly.



The outcome I could have hoped for would have been for him to be on the receiving end of a .40 JHP.

 

[hdfinder47]

If you go looking, don't go half-steppin. Remember, he is now (possibly) armed.

 

[S&W4ME]

Don't beat yourself up with what if's and what should I have done, you survived that is the key.

 

[slinkyonrampage]

Just be thankful that you aren't hurt, and that it's only a sigma that was stolen. I'd say you made out alright.

 

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

If you go looking, don't go half-steppin. Remember, he is now (possibly) armed.

Understood 100%. I honestly think he'll just go sell the gun or trade it for drugs, but best to err on the side of caution.

Don't beat yourself up with what if's and what should I have done, your survived that is the key.

Thanks... Believe me, it helps. Pride and dignity are both hard to swallow.

Just be thankful that you aren't hurt, and that it's only a sigma that was stolen. I'd say you made out alright.

Yep, most definitely. The actual monetary value isn't an issue. If it were a $1,500 1911, I would feel the same. I am completely aware of how the situation could have turned out, and I am proud of myself for knowing how to respond. I think if I did as the one officer suggested, and punched the guy, I'd be in the hospital or morgue at the moment. For some reason, there is still the nagging feeling of "I had this weapon specifically for when there was a threat to my life or that of anyone else, and yet a guy ended up running off with the weapon to do who knows what, as opposed to being carried off by the coroner."


Edit: On the other hand, at least I can say that I DID attempt to the best of my ability to retain possession and neutralize the threat and not get myself hurt in the process.

 

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

Also, after seeing how the officers responded and treated me after just having a potentially lethal struggle for my own weapon makes me wonder how I would have been treated if I DID manage to gain complete possession and wound or kill the guy.

I know if that were the case, tonight would be a long ass night

 

[Rahllin]

Man, that sucks. I would highly advise against going to look for this guy. It could have ended much worse though. 1) You could be dead. 2) He could be dead, which if in the heat of the moment you got the weapon back and fired, well in the eyes of the police, you would have shot an unarmed man, in a place apparently they know about as not being a good place, AND possibly a person they know is into something you may not know about. You could be dead or in a whole lot of ****. Glad to hear everything is ok.


EDIT to comment on your previous post: If you would have killed him, more than likely you would have brought a whole world of **** down onto yourself. From an outside perspective, it wouldn't have looked like self defense at all, and you would probably be behind bars tonight.

 

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

EDIT to comment on your previous post: If you would have killed him, more than likely you would have brought a whole world of **** down onto yourself. From an outside perspective, it wouldn't have looked like self defense at all, and you would probably be behind bars tonight.

Exactly... No witnesses (or none willing to talk.. there was one guy who was sitting 4 ft from my car while this happened, then got up and hauled ass when he saw the guy jump out with the gun) definitely means a whole world of ****... Especially if the dude had some drugs on him or something that I didn't know about. I'd probably be painted as a murderer...

 

[03GeeTee]

Damn, bad situation all around.

 

[Μολὼν λαβέ]

Damn, bad situation all around.

03GeeTee... This happened in a 99GeeTee, so you can probably imagine how hard it would be to struggle for control of a firearm in that car

 

[derf]

You don't know the thief's name? Why not post it?
You're not concerned about what he might do with it?

I'm starting to see why the cops are like "Right, that's your story, eh?"

Something seems fishy here.
You must now change your screen name and avatar or face screen name and avatar fail jokes.

Seriously, though, if you know the guy's name call the police (not 911) and report it stolen and by whom. That is about all you can do.

 

[Witiku]

Don't kick yourself too hard over it. Woulda Coulda Shoulda... normal post event thinking but not necessary. Reaction is always slower than action and you got out alive for your good deed(s) so that's all that matters. And you only lost a Sigma.

I'm a little surprised at the reaction from all the LE you interacted with. I expect they get lied to So much that they can't tell when someone like yourself, is just looking for help.

Maybe they will look for your gun..

 

[03GeeTee]

03GeeTee... This happened in a 99GeeTee, so you can probably imagine how hard it would be to struggle for control of a firearm in that car

Yes I can... And I hope I never have to.