Connecticut Gun Theft Victim Gets Rest Of His Guns Taken By Police

mikeyp

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Yes he was a dumbass for leaving it in an unlocked glove compartment in an unlocked car, but still

One thing lawmakers should consider when they pass a law isn’t just how it will be enforced but also how that enforcement will sway people’s behavior. For example, the idea behind the death penalty is, in part, that executing people will dissuade others from committing such heinous crimes. That’s the goal.

However, sometimes the enforcement may actually push people into behaving very differently than originally intended.

A case last week in Connecticut is just such an example.

Sgt. Jennifer Pinto said police were called to Reynolds Avenue at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday on a report of a car burglary that involved a stolen gun. The owner of the car, Christopher Jerome, 26, parked his car at about 8:20 p.m. Monday and, thinking that he was going to get back into the car a short time later, did not lock the doors.

When he got up the next morning, Jerome saw that his driver’s side door was open and his gun had been taken out of the unlocked glove box, Pinto said. Jerome presented his pistol permit to officers and told them that he had more firearms in his home.

So Jerome was the victim of a crime. Yes, he made a big mistake in not securing the firearm, but he did the responsible thing in owning up to the mistake.

As a result, he was charged with reckless endangerment.

Way to reinforce responsible behavior, folks. That wasn’t all, either.

Because of the circumstances of the theft, police went into the home and took the guns, a semiautomatic Glock pistol, another handgun and a semi-automatic AR-15.

Under a new law that went into effect Oct. 1, Jerome was charged with a misdemeanor count of unsafe storage of a gun in a motor vehicle in addition to the reckless endangerment charge. The new law makes it a crime to store a gun in a locked car if it is not also put into a safe, locked in the glove box or stored in the car’s trunk.

So now what will happen when people learn about what happened to Jerome?

Easy. They’ll either refuse to contact the police about stolen guns or they’ll lie and argue the car was locked or the gun was secured with a gun lock but stolen anyway.

More than likely, many will simply refuse to report the guns stolen. They’ll feign ignorance or come up with some other kind of excuse if it’s later learned their gun ended up in the wrong hands, but they’re not going to admit to having made a mistake. Why risk it?

No, that’s probably not the best thing to do, but can you blame them?

Jerome had a lapse in judgment. As a result, he’s not only facing charges but was completely disarmed without any conviction or suggestion that he represents a threat to society.

That is a huge problem, yet this is what the anti-gunners want. They want to make it so any single mistake can be twisted and turned into justification to disarm us. People are human, they make mistakes. That’s all Jerome did, and now look where he is. On some level they want all of us to either be put in that exact same spot or so terrified to be there that we basically neuter ourselves by never taking our guns out of our safe.

There’s literally nothing right about this kind of thing.

Remember when victim-blaming was a bad thing? That never actually applied to us, though, now did it?
 
Another mistake this guy made was keeping all of his guns in his home, especially with all of this "red flag" hysteria going on nationwide. Keep a few inexpensive workhorse guns at home for regular home defense, hunting and other sporting purposes. Family heirlooms and other valuable firearms should be cached elsewhere; preferably out of state.
 
Another mistake this guy made was keeping all of his guns in his home, especially with all of this "red flag" hysteria going on nationwide. Keep a few inexpensive workhorse guns at home for regular home defense, hunting and other sporting purposes. Family heirlooms and other valuable firearms should be cached elsewhere; preferably out of state.
That is a good strategy if you have some ghost gun builds or a gun that for some reason was never legally transferred to you. But what if the authorities show up to your house with a list of your “registered” guns that they want to take possession of??? I would think telling them that they are out of state, or you don’t know where they are, would not go well.
 
He should have just lied and told them the car was locked. Nothing good ever comes from telling the truth in these type of situations. The system in these blue states are here to work against you not for you.
 
What he did was dumb but hopefully there is some lessons learned here.
No one in government is your friend.
The police will do as they're told by whoever is signing the checks , right or wrong.
Proceed through life with that knowledge in the back of your mind.
 
At the risk of making a very unpopular statement on here, I think we should be a little more critical of this citizen. Regardless of what the states laws are (and how they unfortunately have to be followed, the whole don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time thing whether they are legitimate laws or not).

100% I think confiscating his property without full due process was wrong and a major overstep, don’t confuse what I’m writing for support of what happened. That being said, it was a lot more than just a “minor” mistake. This was complacency or idiocy. Don’t leave unsecured firearms unlocked on the side of the road, that’s a no brainer. It wasn’t MA where the glove box doesn’t count, all he had to do was secure it. Pretty basic stuff, not just to comply with the law but to be a responsible firearms owner especially in a strict state and in our current political climate. We shouldn’t just give every firearms owner a free pass to be an idiot because they are “on our side” by being an owner. Had he gone up for review for fitness to have an LTC he woulda lost that battle, there’s enough thugs with guns as is, at least lock your damn car door to make it harder to steal more.

“It’s a simple mistake and easy to forget” isn’t good enough, it’s a simple mistake to not clear your weapon too, plenty of oopsies happen that way too
 
Meanwhile cops are leaving their guns behind in the bathroom at the mall and saying "Oopsie, my bad".
Not to mention, getting cocked at a local brewpub then t-boning a couple of women driving home... and not getting BAC tested:
State trooper runs stop sign near Oxford Airport, totals cruiser, injures two women
State Police sergeant under investigation following crash
State police initially told Hearst Connecticut Media that the crash was being investigated, but did not answer questions on whether McDonald had been required to take a blood alcohol test.

McDonald refused treatment at the hospital, so his blood alcohol content was not taken by a blood test, according to DESPP executive aide Brian Foley told NBC CT Tueday.

Under ordinary circumstances, medical treatment would likely include a blood test which would have indicated his blood alcohol content after the crash.
 
That is a good strategy if you have some ghost gun builds or a gun that for some reason was never legally transferred to you. But what if the authorities show up to your house with a list of your “registered” guns that they want to take possession of??? I would think telling them that they are out of state, or you don’t know where they are, would not go well.
None of my guns are on any cop's list. All were purchased out of state and never reported to MA. Anyone who registers guns in this political climate is asking for trouble.
 
Seems to me he did literally nothing wrong.

Storage laws are bullshit.

Reckless endangerment because thief stole his property? Anyone who’s willing to arrest someone or enforce that can f*** off and is an awful human being.
 
It was an unsafe act to be sure. Why is no one talking about the person who broke into the car? Was the break in not a crime? Could this whole incident be a set up by the communists? Was someone watching him, or was this breaking in done by someone who knows the victim?
Just my 2 cents here, but in this political climate perhaps we should start looking at things in a larger picture?
 
Another mistake this guy made was keeping all of his guns in his home,
..... Keep a few inexpensive workhorse guns at home for regular home defense, hunting and other sporting purposes. Family heirlooms and other valuable firearms should be cached elsewhere; preferably out of state.

NO.

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I think by the letter of the law, not one single gun owner lawfully stores their firearms and for that reason, the militias that be will use that as grounds to strip anyone they want of their guns just by principle. I don't agree nor will ever support it.

For example all the people that have a "Home defense gun " that live in MA. such gun doesn't exist. In MA, and a few other blue states. All guns have to be under lock and key fully unloaded and in tamper resistant containers when not in use. A law everyone follows to the T. No doubt lol.

I really wish the state of our country wasn't in such disarray.

Also his name's Jerome. I'm not one of those... Not saying THAT per se. But do with that as you will.
 
Should have said "Occifer, I left it on the roof, that's legal in NH."

It's amazing how easy it to lose your 2nd and 4th Amendment rights these days.
 
In MA, and a few other blue states. All guns have to be under lock and key fully unloaded and in tamper resistant containers when not in use. A law everyone follows to the T. No doubt lol.

There is no law in MA that requires stored weapons in the home to be unloaded. You can also store with a trigger lock.

Quick access safe, handgun with full mag and one in the pipe is completely legal.
 
Another mistake this guy made was keeping all of his guns in his home, especially with all of this "red flag" hysteria going on nationwide. Keep a few inexpensive workhorse guns at home for regular home defense, hunting and other sporting purposes. Family heirlooms and other valuable firearms should be cached elsewhere; preferably out of state.

This is sound advice. I started keeping some of my guns, ammo and accessories at various homes of relatives in a couple of different states.
 
He should have just lied and told them the car was locked. Nothing good ever comes from telling the truth in these type of situations. The system in these blue states are here to work against you not for you.
You think the police wouldn’t have figured out in short order that no signs of forced entry would tell them he’s lying about it being locked therefore bringing more heat on him.
 
At the risk of making a very unpopular statement on here, I think we should be a little more critical of this citizen. Regardless of what the states laws are (and how they unfortunately have to be followed, the whole don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time thing whether they are legitimate laws or not).

100% I think confiscating his property without full due process was wrong and a major overstep, don’t confuse what I’m writing for support of what happened. That being said, it was a lot more than just a “minor” mistake. This was complacency or idiocy. Don’t leave unsecured firearms unlocked on the side of the road, that’s a no brainer. It wasn’t MA where the glove box doesn’t count, all he had to do was secure it. Pretty basic stuff, not just to comply with the law but to be a responsible firearms owner especially in a strict state and in our current political climate. We shouldn’t just give every firearms owner a free pass to be an idiot because they are “on our side” by being an owner. Had he gone up for review for fitness to have an LTC he woulda lost that battle, there’s enough thugs with guns as is, at least lock your damn car door to make it harder to steal more.

“It’s a simple mistake and easy to forget” isn’t good enough, it’s a simple mistake to not clear your weapon too, plenty of oopsies happen that way too
Totally agree. As long as the whole “suitability” issue hangs over our heads I think it’s insanely stupid to leave a gun unattended in a vehicle. Locked or not.
 
None of my guns are on any cop's list. All were purchased out of state and never reported to MA. Anyone who registers guns in this political climate is asking for trouble.

The same could be said for someone who admits this on an online gun forum that is monitored by the AG’s office
 
You think the police wouldn’t have figured out in short order that no signs of forced entry would tell them he’s lying about it being locked therefore bringing more heat on him.

So cops can charge you cause they think your lying?

Just say it was locked in the trunk. No idea how they got in, but it ain't hard.
 
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