British Ex-Soldier Finds Gun, Turns it Into Police, Is Arrested For It

It's moot. What gets a DA elected is wins. Period.

That's why 99.999% of DA's won't take a case to trial unless they know beforehand that they can win. Doesn't matter if it's a double murder or jaywalking. If he can't win, it's not going to trial. Period.

OK, let's sum this up:

Citizen - tries to do the right thing.

Arresting Officer - a dumbass.

Prosecuter - a dumbass.

Judge - a dumbass.

Jury - 12 dumbasses.

Ayup. I think that sums it up.

I can't wait for the day when all that pent-up Hun repression finally bursts. I think it'll be far better to deal with the Fourth Reich than the EU.

Just for the record. Queens counsel does not mean the same as a DA. You can hire a QC and have him as your attorney to defend against the crown who has another QC prosecuting. QC just means that they are the best and have made it to QC and they have a purple robe. I am not shitting you. I had a friend in england who had a dad who was a QC in Cambridge.

Wait, what?

Maybe you misunderstood my statement. I am saying that maybe electing the DA, instead of him just being a civil servant paper pusher, insures cases like this don't even make it to trial, b/c said DA would have to face the electorate in a few years.

Are you saying that taking such a ridiculous case to trial wouldn't have an effect as long as he won?

This is one of those cases that if ever applied to me would result in the end of the officer, judge, and prosecutor with extreme prejudice upon my release from prison. Ironically enough I wouldn't use a gun either, it would be much, much more fun.

I actually believe everyone involved in the case except the man going to prison deserves to receive his exact sentence for willingly ruining his life.

And the legislators who wrote the law in the first place. Preferably anyone who voted for them after passing that law too, but that's likely somewhat difficult in practice.

Here's a novel concept for you, there's a several pounds of sludge sloshing around your skull you may want to consider using some sunny day.

Had the gun been used in a crime, not only would he be risking being attached to that crime, but he would also keeping evidence that could solve that crime.

Handing in a legally owned gun may be daft, but keeping one illegally that could've been used in a crime? That's just fucking dumb.

Being in possession of certain guns is an automatic crime here, no reasons or excuses allowed. Which is fucking potty.

Home Office guidelines however are:

^Well, no, the problem is a blanket law which means relying on the discretion and common sense of said Chief Super.

Especially when said Chief Super was suspended in May for dishonest behaviour.

And all she needed was to find the cops at her door, having traced a murder weapon to the former homeowner, to discover that she'd found it, not reported it, and wiped out any fingerprint or trace evidence by using it herself. She wasn't prepared to be the reason a murderer went free.

What are the odds that it was a murder weapon? On top of that, what are the odds that the murder was discovered? On top of that, what are the odds that they had any evidence that could link that gun to the crime? What are the odds that, if they person who owned it took the time to hide it in the house and it was a gun used in a crime, they hadn't already wiped the prints off it? I'll bet you a shiny nickel the police got no information from that gun that closed any cases.

Truth be told, I was being a bit silly and I might very well act in the manner you outlined. But truth be told, I wouldn't live in a state where it would be illegal to own a Walther PPK/S, so I'd get to keep the gun after checking with the police. For that matter, what would be the odds of the police knowing to show up at the house with a warrant and actually finding the gun?

And as it stood, I might just get me some rubber gloves, check the gun out to see if it was in good shape, and put it back where I found it. Then if there was ever a time I needed a gun that wasn't linked to me, I'd have one.

Ya don't play odds like that when it's your life, freedom and reputation at stake.

I agree. But I was always raised to believe an honest person could go to the police without fear.

I'm not sure I'd believe that if I lived in England.

Do you believe it here? What about that guy in Arizona that called the police to tell them his house had been broken into and he was holding the burglars at gunpoint? The cops shot him 6 times in the back when they showed up and then tried to cover it up.

Link? Or more details so I can google it please!

Here is a video with an interview from the wife.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/10/09/pn.cop.shoots.homeowner.cnn

It seems the yankees here are as nutty as the brits. the house was legally bought and so anything in it after the sale is hers. Not any different if she had found a shovel in the house. There is a chance that shovel was used to brain someone and then bury them, but what are the odds? Why assume something found in a home was used in a crime? That makes no sense at all. The irrational fear of guns is just silly. It could be worth a lot of money.

Do you have a gun?

Some people have the luxury of playing it safe. Some people take risks for a living.

A couple hundred years ago, the Authorities came for the guns at Lexington. If some farmers had said "it isn't worth the risk", we could be living under the Queen's rules.

That's horrible, but it's not even the same level. One is one man making a mistake in the moment - horrible and deserving of punishment.

What happened in England was methodical on the part of the government, and much worse because of that imho.

That's a trick question. The British courts don't believe their citizens have the right to defend their private property, on the one hand. On the other, they'll prosecute people who otherwise aren't breaking any law just for breathing too aggressively, seems to me. Swinging back yet again the other way, if you beat an old woman to death there while attempting to rob her, the courts will basically just issue a 'complaint.'

So it seems to me the thing to do is to use the gun to beat an elderly person to death while on THEIR property, then leave it there and have them face the firearms possession charge. Or... something.

Why assume a gun hidden in the ceiling by people you don't know was NOT used in a crime? Best to err on the side of, ya know, NOT going to jail for something you didn't do.

Um. Hi, have we met?

Where does one sell a hot gun that one has no paperwork for, that may or may not have been used in a crime?

Yard sale? Flea market?

Queenslist.org

Absolutely false.

She bought the house. She did not buy the house and its contents. If the previous owner forgot to take an item with them that doesn't mean ownership of said item transfers to the new owner.

This is why real estate contracts specifically spell out in writing that the stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, chandlers, ceiling fans, washers and dryers and any other items as listed on the contract are being sold to the new owner with the house. You don't get that stuff just because it's in the house and there are plenty of home sellers who've taken chandlers and ceiling fans with them because they are expensive. (the other stuff usually isn't worth it unless it is something special to the seller)

If someone sells you a house and forgets to take something with them and they come back for it and you refuse to give to them under this stupid belief that it belongs to you, I guarantee you that the cops will be called and you will end up in court. Either for theft, pissing off the cops for not giving something back that doesn't belong to you or in civil court where any competent judge will rip you for being a retard.

^Actually we had just such an incident. After we bought our house we redecorated (of course!) Three weeks after we moved in, the prvious owner knocked on the door and asked for her drapes from the picture window. We'd thrown them out. She got very upset. Never occured to us that she had any legal hold on them. Fortunately it didn't occur to her either. But I can't imagine the local cops appreciating being called for something so pathetically minor.

Well hopefully they'd be called for something more substantial. Most likely a idiot like Enlisted Person would end up in civil court.

However with that said there is a time limit for the original owner. After some time it could be said they abandoned the item.