The gun was popped because the serial # was reported by the local gun store, as is common practice when the forms are filed electronically. The store purchased a collection of 4 old Smiths from a widow in an Oklahoma City suburb.
The victim of course, and the suspect are both deceased in this case. It is a cold case that has never been closed because the murder weapon was never found to match to the recovered bullet. When the serial # popped, the ATF notified Chicago authorities who then reactivated the cold case and submitted a request to the ATF to recover the gun for ballistic testing. The search started after the crime was commited, the suspect told investigators that he had sold the gun to a local dealer. The dealer then said that he sold it to another individual. That individual told investigators that it fell into a lake while out in a boat fishing. As I know now, that was a real fish story, because the gun doesn't look like it has spent the last 54 years, or even 54 minutes, in the water.
The ATF agent involved was a very nice and professional individual and was very sympathetic to my predicament. He felt bad about having to take a rare Smith away from me. We had a pleasant long talk about this and other things unrelated.
And to those concerned, I REMOVED AND KEPT THE STOCKS. I figure I can sell them and maybe recover a little compensation for "pain and suffering."
Last edited by Dvus; 05-14-2020 at 12:18 AM.
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