Faulkner
Member
I worked on a report and follow up investigation recently on a gentleman who lost his gun because he broke a cardinal rule in concealed carry . . . he took his gun off his person and left it unsecured.
The short version is he carries a Ruger 380 in a Sneaky Pete holster. Apparently, at times it gouges into his waistline, or as he put it to me, it pokes him in the gut. He and his wife were returning home from a trip and stopped at a local grocery store to pick up a few items before they went home. As the gentleman was pushing the grocery cart through the store, ol' Sneaky Pete got to irritating him so he takes it off and lays it in the child seat of the grocery cart. That's the last time he remembers seeing it until he missed it when he pulls up in the driveway at home.
In a panic, he zooms back to the grocery store where probably about 20-25 minutes had passed. The grocery cart is where he left it in the parking lot, but it's empty. He goes into the store and finds the store manager and (to his embarrassment) explains the situation. Manager checks, but no one has turned anything in. At that point he immediately contacts the police and since it's actually in the county we get the call.
I sat down with the gentleman to work up the report. He's no fruitcake, he's retired military and owns a small business. In visiting with him I determined he's a gun guy. He knows he screwed up big time and told me so. It was obvious he was ashamed at himself for making such a knucklehead mistake. Once I got the report information and his statement for the report I told him we would go check the store surveillance system and see what we could find.
I'd worked with this particular grocery store before and knew they had an above average camera system and their store manager knew how to use it. After a bit we were able to track the gentleman and his wife as they left the store, watched them load their groceries in their car, she moved the grocery cart aside, and as they drove off you could plainly see ol' Sneaky Pete still in the child seat on the grocery cart.
We continued to watch the video keeping an eye on the cart. About seven minutes later, after several people had walked within arms reach of the grocery cart, a woman who looked to be mid 30's walked by and obviously saw the item in the cart. She stopped and looked at it without touching it, looked all around, then reached in and snagged it and put it in her purse. I suspect she thought it was a cell phone. She then walked over to her car and got in and drove off. With a little more video detective work I believe we have enough information to identify her.
Even though the guy was already beating himself up over the issue, I told him concealed carry is a serious responsibility and he screwed up . . . carelessness can get someone hurt or killed. To his credit, he said he wasn't concerned about getting his gun back, he just didn't want to end up in the wrong hands.
The short version is he carries a Ruger 380 in a Sneaky Pete holster. Apparently, at times it gouges into his waistline, or as he put it to me, it pokes him in the gut. He and his wife were returning home from a trip and stopped at a local grocery store to pick up a few items before they went home. As the gentleman was pushing the grocery cart through the store, ol' Sneaky Pete got to irritating him so he takes it off and lays it in the child seat of the grocery cart. That's the last time he remembers seeing it until he missed it when he pulls up in the driveway at home.
In a panic, he zooms back to the grocery store where probably about 20-25 minutes had passed. The grocery cart is where he left it in the parking lot, but it's empty. He goes into the store and finds the store manager and (to his embarrassment) explains the situation. Manager checks, but no one has turned anything in. At that point he immediately contacts the police and since it's actually in the county we get the call.
I sat down with the gentleman to work up the report. He's no fruitcake, he's retired military and owns a small business. In visiting with him I determined he's a gun guy. He knows he screwed up big time and told me so. It was obvious he was ashamed at himself for making such a knucklehead mistake. Once I got the report information and his statement for the report I told him we would go check the store surveillance system and see what we could find.
I'd worked with this particular grocery store before and knew they had an above average camera system and their store manager knew how to use it. After a bit we were able to track the gentleman and his wife as they left the store, watched them load their groceries in their car, she moved the grocery cart aside, and as they drove off you could plainly see ol' Sneaky Pete still in the child seat on the grocery cart.
We continued to watch the video keeping an eye on the cart. About seven minutes later, after several people had walked within arms reach of the grocery cart, a woman who looked to be mid 30's walked by and obviously saw the item in the cart. She stopped and looked at it without touching it, looked all around, then reached in and snagged it and put it in her purse. I suspect she thought it was a cell phone. She then walked over to her car and got in and drove off. With a little more video detective work I believe we have enough information to identify her.
Even though the guy was already beating himself up over the issue, I told him concealed carry is a serious responsibility and he screwed up . . . carelessness can get someone hurt or killed. To his credit, he said he wasn't concerned about getting his gun back, he just didn't want to end up in the wrong hands.
Last edited:
