I Was Robbed

[s3dcor]

I have a 4X4 truck that sits in my yard in a safe neighborhood in Montana. I never lock the truck and always leave the keys in it. We just got a foot of snow this week so I have been driving it. Today I checked my center console to find that my pistol was gone. Gone are my Ruger Speed Six, holster, speed loader and an original Leatherman in a leather case that my dad left to me. They were selective leaving behind a Winchester knife and a good set of binoculars.

This is the first time I have ever had anything stolen in my life, I guess I have been lucky. I always lock the truck when I am out but made the mistake of thinking that no-one would come in my yard and rob me. Times are changing, there are so many desperate people around even in safe neighborhoods.

This is a lesson learned the hard way. It could happen to anyone....

 

[rags]

Sorry to hear that! THAT SUCKS!!!!

Call the police, report it as stolen. Give serial number and your current info. They'll put it in the database. The sooner the better. Maybe someone will do something stupid and get arrested with it.

I know....my first loss was a 7 month old 586....Out of my house!

Chin up!

rags

 

[mgjohn]

There are no safe neighborhoods anymore. You were at the very least unwise to leave a gun and ammo in an unlocked vehicle.

(Maybe someone will do something stupid and get arrested) Someone has already done something stupid, they made it easy for a gun to get stolen.

 

[BUFF]

s3dcor:

I don't mean to come off as harsh or anything, but it seems pretty irresponsible to leave a loaded gun in an unlocked vehicle. It's just asking for it to be stolen and then misused. I am afraid that Ozzie & Harriet's and Leave It To Beaver's world is long gone.

There are no "safe neighborhoods." There are just some neighborhoods that are more dangerous than others.

I live in a nice neighborhood in a quiet, low crime bedroom community that is a suburb of a low crime city. I don't remember the last vehicle burglary around here I heard about. I have a take-home police car with a locking gun rack bolted in place and a car alarm. I never leave my issued long gun locked in the rack locked in the car in my driveway. It is just a bad idea.

I am often asked by people, "Is this a safe neighborhood?" I ask them what they mean by "safe."

"Well, do people get murdered often around here?"

"Just like anywhere else," I tell them, "just once."

 

[sipowicz]

NO matter where I lived, I could not bring myself to leaving my vehicle unlocked...especially with the keys in it...guess growing up in the Bronx has its advantages...

 

[LVSteve]

I have a 4X4 truck that sits in my yard in a safe neighborhood in Montana. I never lock the truck and always leave the keys in it.

Sorry for your loss, but those two sentences were your downfall. Pretty much anywhere is bandit country these days as they can get about so easily. Lots of roads coupled with more reliable vehicles and a good understanding of the odds of being caught have made the modern crook more brazen than ever. They probably did not take the truck as the noise might have alerted you.

I try to tell my extended family in rural Iowa the same thing, but they are not convinced. Their disbelief can be judged by the fact that they look baffled on finding my rental car locked when parked on their driveway.

 

[hf1960]

I like the other MT member, USE to do the same thing. Too many hoody punks anymore. Better ways to bait em....

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

They probably did not take the truck as the noise might have alerted you.

.

Or Maybe they were too young to drive....

 

[MTS Cop]

You left a firearm unattended in an unlocked vehicle? Am I the only one bothered by this?

 

[cp1969]

Don't rag on the guy for leaving HIS gun in HIS truck on HIS property.

That's his business.

Blaming him is making excuses for the thief. If I see the keys in a vehicle, I'm not compelled to steal it. Why is anyone else?

 

[Kanewpadle]

Don't rag on the guy for leaving HIS gun in HIS truck on HIS property.

That's his business.

Blaming him is making excuses for the thief. If I see the keys in a vehicle, I'm not compelled to steal it. Why is anyone else?

YOU are not the same as the thieves.

While I feel for the guy, it is irresponsible and even illegal in some states to leave a gun, or loaded gun in an unattended vehicle.

While we can't control the actions of scumbags, it doesn't excuse us from controlling our actions. Regardless of where we are.

 

[moosedog]

I think it's not so much of a case of creating temptation for a thief as it would be my concern that some curious child passing thru may get their hands on it.

 

[ColColt]

I can identify with the OP's dismay of having someone lift his firearm. I had a similar incident happen back in 1973 and it was at my Mom's house where I was currently staying briefly. I left a Colt MkIV Series 70 in my new VW, in the glove box with the car locked. I had forgotten about it since back then it WAS Mayberry where I lived, unlike today.

A neighbor next door who was a truck driver then had two sons that were the epitome of a rogue and I know without a doubt they're the ones that stole it but I couldn't prove it. I made a police report, he took down the serial number and that was that. Ten years later almost to the very month, I got a call from the chief of police telling me they had located my 45 in, of all places and thousands of miles away, San Raphael, CA. It was tied up in a murder trial but I was told as soon as that was over I could come get it. So, it does pay to file a police report. I never expected to get it back but lucked out.

If you CCW and you're about to go to a restaurant that serves alcohol, you've got two choices. Go somewhere else or leave the gun in the car unattended. Around here you can't carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol. What's your choice? Only you can decide that.

 

[redlevel]

Don't rag on the guy for leaving HIS gun in HIS truck on HIS property.

That's his business.

Blaming him is making excuses for the thief. If I see the keys in a vehicle, I'm not compelled to steal it. Why is anyone else?

X10

My pickup is sitting in the yard now, unlocked, keys in it, with a cheap 12 gauge shotgun behind the seat. Sometimes, rarely but sometimes, I'll leave a handgun in it overnight.

I leave loaded guns in various buildings around the farm. If I see a varmint, I don't have time to run in the house, open the safe, and grab a weapon. Much easier to run in the barn and grab a single barrel 12 gauge, or a cheap old pump shotgun. Am I irresponsible for doing that?

This mindset sort of reminds me of the proposal a few years back in one of the cities to outlaw wearing gold chains because it encouraged hoodlums to snatch them.

 

[cp1969]

Ten years later almost to the very month, I got a call from the chief of police telling me they had located my 45 in, of all places and thousands of miles away, San Raphael, CA. It was tied up in a murder trial but I was told as soon as that was over I could come get it. So, it does pay to file a police report.

Yes, indeed the cops never sleep, so it pays to file a report.

My wife's uncle (he was married to her aunt) was murdered in Victorville, CA in May, 1991 while working there under contract to a railroad. No motive, no suspects, no nothing that we knew of. We'd given up. Just this month, they arrested and charged a guy in Tennessee with the murder.

My hat is off to the San Bernadino County cops.

Sorry for straying off-topic.

 

[tom turner]

There are no safe neighborhoods. If it were so we wouldn't need guns would we?

Sorry for your loss, and hope the gun doesn't end up killing someone in the hands of a bad guy.

 

[The Big D]

First, you were not "robbed."

Second, you should not have been entrusted to possess a firearm.

Period.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

sorry about your loss, and especially sorry hearing about them grabbing your pops old leatherman ...

 

[Dusty Miller]

There are no safe neighborhoods anymore. You were at the very least unwise to leave a gun and ammo in an unlocked vehicle.

(Maybe someone will do something stupid and get arrested) Someone has already done something stupid, they made it easy for a gun to get stolen.

+1 DON"T leave yourself vulnerable or somebody is sure to take advantage of it sooner or later.

 

[Dusty Miller]

Don't rag on the guy for leaving HIS gun in HIS truck on HIS property.

That's his business.

Blaming him is making excuses for the thief. If I see the keys in a vehicle, I'm not compelled to steal it. Why is anyone else?

I call BS on this. The very knowledge that there are thieves in the world compells us to take reasonable precautions against them acquiring items that can be easily used to injure others. We have a responsibility to our fellow citizens to do what we reasonably can to thwart crime.

 

[G-Mac]

I have a 4X4 truck that sits in my yard in a safe neighborhood in Montana.

Still think it's a safe neighborhood?

I consider my neighborhood to be safe too....but I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I knew that I left a loaded gun in my truck.

Sorry to hear that you lost a nice gun and had to learn the hard way.

 

[olypenn222]

Sorry for your loss. In this state it illegal to leave a loaded gun in an unattended vehicle. The law can hold your responsible for its use in a crime if it is stolen.

The ex-police chief of Seattle had his service weapon stolen out of his car, we are still waiting to see if he is charged.

its been a few years now.

 

[srgvaz]

Times changed a long time ago . The fact that you still have the truck, binoculars, and knife says allot. It could of been a kid out for the holidays or visiting family that had nothing better to do. Never trust anybody everyone steels at some point in their life, and there's always someone out there that wants what you have.

 

[Gunfighter9]

In reading this I am reminded of the scene from Full Metal Jacket where the Drill Instructor finds the unlocked foot locker. The simple fact of the matter is that if you leave your stuff unsecured sooner or later someone will take it. We had a guy in my platoon at basic training who stole $200 bucks out of his battle buddy's locker while the guy was in the shower. It can happen anywhere. Personally I despise theives and there exits no excuse for their actions. However, I don't make things easy for them. I am neurotic about looking doors, cars, windows, and keeping the stuff kept in my vehicle to a minimum. To the OP let this be a lesson, albiet an expensive one. Tighten up your security measures and pray your gun isn't put to bad use.

 

[JcMack]

Around here they'd steal the pennies off a dead man's eyes, and check his pockets too.

 

[oldman45]

Sorry but I have to put in my two cents here.

1. Leaving a firearm in a vehicle is not careless but plain negligent and could get one sued big time. Seen it happen more than a few times. I carry at least three guns in my vehicles, no matter which I am using. When I pull in my driveway for the night (upper middle class, limited entry neighborhood) all guns, cameras, reports, recorders and such from the car. Then the car is locked, the alarm is set, the garage door goes down and locked. Never had a theft yet from the car.

2. This BS about leaving the houses unlocked is just that. People never did leave their doors unlocked. I grew up in the 40's-50's and in the better neighborhoods. We locked our doors at night and so did our neighbors. My father in law lived all his life in a rural area away from neighbors, roadways and such. He always locked his doors. The talk about leaving doors unlocked is a myth used to explain the difference between the pristine past and the nasty now.

3. Everyone here has items left unguarded and exposed to theft. I have a 1100 ft house I use as a storage room behind my home. It had yard tools, saddles, gun cases (empty), motorhome supplies, court presentation electronics, seasonal items and some furniture inside. It is never locked just as most here do not lock their outside storage rooms, barns, tack rooms or such. Some of the things that could be stolen would be considered a large loss but certainly guns are not going to be out there. Should these buildings be locked? YES. Will we lock them? NO.

To the original poster: Report the gun theft. If something illegal happens with that gun and it gets traced back to you, I am afraid the lack of a report could cost you dearly. If a neighborhood youth got the gun and a death or injury results, prepare to be severely sued, possibly jailed and spend tens of thousands in legal your legal defense. Report the theft immediately. At least doing so will offer you some protection in the legal realm.

 

[NCTexan]

Don't rag on the guy for leaving HIS gun in HIS truck on HIS property.

That's his business.

Blaming him is making excuses for the thief. If I see the keys in a vehicle, I'm not compelled to steal it. Why is anyone else?

Nobody is excusing the thief... You really had to stretch to read that into what had been written.

If you haven't noticed, we live in a world with some folks who don't play by the rules.

If you think that it makes sense to not take reasonable precautions just to prove your moral superiority... then power to you and good luck.

 

[cowboy117]

First of all,lock 'em up and take guns,etc.out of all cars and trucks.And,i grew up in Kansas in the '50's and we didn't even have a key to our farmhouse[we were sharecroppers].Our farm car didn't have a key either.

 

[too tall]

We did not lock our doors when I was growing up. We did not have much to take either. I mean the tv was huge back then! Who would want to move it for the seven channels or whatever we had? LOL

Thieves are lazy, that's one reason they are stealing and not working for the item(s).
If we take for granted what we own then we get lazy.
Kind of sounds like a commune, where everyone uses everybody else's belongings.

If you don't want that, then LOCK UP YOUR STUFF!:banghead: Locking something shows how we value what is inside. Or have a dog there, or lights, or always be there or have someone watching your stuff when you're gone.

Don't get me wrong, the thieves shoud be caught and punished, but don't expect mankind to change just because you don't want to lock up what is yours! Society is what we get when we apply or don't apply our laws. Mankind will always need laws. But just like the police can't be there to protect you and yours, laws and the police can't be there to protect your stuff. Mankind is what it is. Do all of the above!

Only the locking will also stop the friend or family member though.

 

[msgdan]

It's not a crime for someone to leave their possessions in their vehicle, unlocked if they choose.

It is a crime for someone to steal your stuff.