Felon got caught hunting today.

[Ron 1]

A friend of mine got caught hunting, he has a felony from 10 years ago, non-violent felony.

He got caught hunting today, and searched his vehicle and found 2 more guns.
The officers took the guns, took his picture, and wrote down license information.
And told him after the 1st of the year, they would turn it into the prosecutor, and see if they would pursue any actions.

Doesn't it seem like you would have gotten a ticket, a receipt for the weapons, a nice ride to the chrome bar hotel, SOMETHING!

My thought is that the cops got free guns... Just happened today.

But would could the 10 year felon expect?

     rw

[powderman]

YEP. Sounds pretty hokey. POWDERMAN. 

[wreckhog]

Screw him. Gives us a bad name.

[possume]

the law is the law

[Pat/Rick]

........shall not be infringed.

[gypsyman]

He should definetly get a lawyer. What was he charged with? My ex boss was charged back in the early 70's with a felony. He sold a lb. of Unique with out having the customer sign for it. ATF agent was in his gun shop, and witnessed it. Took away his FFL, fined him, but never put him in jail. Back then, if a dealer sold a powder, that could be used for pistol ammo, it had to be signed for, shotgun powder you didn't have to.
Fast forward almost 25 years. He went fishing with a buddy of his, that was a lawyer. When they got to talking about it, the lawyer got his record cleared with some paper work, basically because the law had been dropped.
If your friend has kept his nose clean for 10 years, maybe something can be done. gypsyman

[dukkillr]

Depends heavily on the state.  There are both state and federal FIP statutes with different timelines for each.  He needs to contact a local lawyer.  It depends on the state, but those cases can have very serious penalties.

[hillbill]

turn it in after the first of the year?who ever heard of that?im not a law enforcement officer, but are not all tickets and paperwork turned in at the end of each shift?sounds like that cop got himself some free guns.

[Ron 1]

it was a dnr officer that cought him. at the time the police came out to see if they had permission to hunt that property and it was check out by the state police and cleared they left.his truck would not start and the dnr showed up and check his truck and found the two gun were he said they were and took them.took his pic. wrote it all down on yellow note book. then said after the first of the year he would turn it in to the prosacuter to see if he wants to charge him. then left him stranded with a truck that would not start and no guns.

he was charged with receiving stolen property back in i think 1996 and has not been in any trouble sense.   
this is our deer fire arm season so yes he is a very busy feller. the dnr is or has more power than the state police. i just dont see why he didnt get a ticket or receipt for the guns.

[yellowtail3]

the law is the law

Yeah, well, the law SUCKS in this case. I utterly detest the 'once a felon, never again a free man' crap re: voting rights and 2nd Amendment Rights. For one thing... it's getting ever-easier to be a 'felon', and it just doesn't make sense.

the idea - that a guy convicted of a crime in years past, who has served whatever sentence and done no substantial crimes since - that this guy can never hunt, never own guns, never vote - is just stoopid.

I hope the guy doesn't get in serious trouble. I hate attorneys, but he needs to hire one - check carefully, make sure the guy practices where that DA is - and hopefully a talk w/DA can derail it.

[Conan The Librarian]

This is a case of two wrongs not making a right. The material issue here is that your friend broke the law and is lucky not to be behind bars right now looking at a trial and prison time. In fact, this crime may well be more serious than the crime that made him a felon in the first place. He certainly knew that he was taking the risk when he started acquiring guns after a felony conviction. Has he been voting too? This guy belongs in jail for what he did.

What the cops did is entirely another matter.

[billy_56081]

Here in MN a felon has his rights restored here after release from the sentence, they can vote and own firearms  by state law. Now I believe federal law is another issue. As for the first of the year, could it be that there was a new county attourney elected?

[Conan The Librarian]

That's true, but it takes time, and there's a lengthy process that they have to go through. It's  not auto-magic.

[yellowtail3]

In fact, this crime may well be more serious than the crime that made him a felon in the first place.

And that is just WRONG, so wrong.

[Dee]

I was a police officer for 20 years and watched this law evolve, and it many times SUCKS!
EXAMPLE: My now deceased father and mother in laws, in their youth, partied EVERY WEEKEND,and fought, EVERY WEEKEND. Both were arrested more than once for fighting with each other. In about 1980, both quit drinking, and as a result both quit fighting, and as a result both were never arrested again.
Shortly after that however, a NEW LAW went into effect in the State of Texas that would describe their past behavior as, FAMILY VIOLENCE! If arrested for FAMILY VIOLENCE, you could never again own, or possess a firearm, or even a single round of ammo. The kicker here is: It became RETRO ACTIVE. In other words, if my father in law were still alive today, he could no longer own, or possess a firearm, or ammo, which would also mean, he would have to give up his life long passion of DEER HUNTING.
FAIR? NOT HARDLY.
In Texas and other states, if the neighbors call because you and your wife are getting a little loud with you "ARGUING" and the police witness you yelling at your wife, or she at you, then you can, and many times ARE, charged with FAMILY VIOLENCE. FAIR? NOT HARDLY.
Now this friend that was in possession of STOLEN PROPERTY? I have no damn use for a thief, but WHAT KIND OF PROPERTY, and how old was he, and how long ago was it. He could have grown up, and changed his ways. Did he pay his debt to society, or do some of you guys just want to make him pay for the rest of his life? Cause you guys NEVER DONE NOTHIN WRONG. DID YA?

[Ron 1]

Dee if i remember right it was a car radio he bought from someone and it was stolen.
he served his time 11 years ago and his grown up alot.
the part of not getting a ticket or a ride is weird to me not even a receipt for the guns they took.
why would the dnr wait tell after the 1st of the year to turn in his report and to write it down in a notebook
it just sounds funny.
  rw  
  and thank for the replys to all even to those that say he

Screw him. Gives us a bad name.

[gypsyman]

YT3, you and I can agree on this one! If this ''crime'' was worse than the original, he should have been charged and arrested.period. And the idea of either the police officers or the DNR guys, giving that song and dance of waiting till the first of the year bull crap. Something smells fishy here. He needs a good lawyer, and coming from a guy that puts lawyers just above whale crap, you get my point. gypsyman

[slim rem 7]

 well dad broke me of stealing  at about 8yrs old.i had to deal with it with 2 of my five children..
i dealt with it, same way.. just take them back to the store and make them look the store owner in the eye an fess up ..then pay him for the candy..
that broke me of that sort of things an my children also..
 if a man keeps a clean record 5 yrs after serving his time,possibly it ought to be cleaned off his record..
might depend on what the original crime was..
 no worries though ,in time, big gov t,will take care of it all ..you don t believe it ,just ask the socialist..
  yall be thankful this thanksgiving..be real thankful .. god bless

 


 
 

[yellowtail3]

YT3, you and I can agree on this one! If this ''crime'' was worse than the original, he should have been charged and arrested.period. And the idea of either the police officers or the DNR guys, giving that song and dance of waiting till the first of the year bull crap. Something smells fishy here. He needs a good lawyer, and coming from a guy that puts lawyers just above whale crap, you get my point. gypsyman

We probably agree on more than you think.

The guy needs a lawyer not because of fishy circumstance, no receipt, etc... but because as a 'felon' in possession of a firearm, he is at great legal hazard.

[yellowtail3]

I was a police officer for 20 years and watched this law evolve, and it many times SUCKS! ..The kicker here is: It became RETRO ACTIVE. In other words, if my father in law were still alive today, he could no longer own, or possess a firearm, or ammo, which would also mean, he would have to give up his life long passion of DEER HUNTING. FAIR? NOT HARDLY.

Agreed. The TRUTH is, much of what you hear about 'domestic violence' is BS, and politically driven, and seems to be immune to critical examination.

Now this friend that was in possession of STOLEN PROPERTY? I have no damn use for a thief, but WHAT KIND OF PROPERTY, and how old was he, and how long ago was it. He could have grown up, and changed his ways. Did he pay his debt to society, or do some of you guys just want to make him pay for the rest of his life? Cause you guys NEVER DONE NOTHIN WRONG. DID YA?

yep.

In NY State...getting busted for pot...even misdemeanor means forfeiture of gun rights...buried in public law 296.
Laws are often 'gotcha' setups down the road a piece when you least expect it.

Pay attention, peeps - the categories of prohibited persons re: 2nd Amendment rights, continues to grow... it is almost enough there to make on agree with Rev. Wright.

[MGMorden]

While it does sting, he should have known better and obeyed the law (first time, but he's already paid his dues for that - I'm talking about the part about having a gun whilst having a past felony conviction).

FWIW, I've known people on other boards who continued to hunt after a felony conviction.  They took up bow hunting.  No law against a former felon owning archery equipment (at least not in any state I'm aware of).

Although I've never heard of anyone trying it, from an academic type discussion I've often wondered if you could simply use a muzzleloader.  The Federal government doesn't consider a muzzleloader to be legally a firearm, nor do most states (I think a few DO though).  From that perspective, you might be able to go that route.  It's definitely a grey area though.   Possibly an option, but not something I'd do without getting advice from a lawyer (and possibly confirmation - preferably in writing - from local chief LEO) first.

[powderman]

Now this friend that was in possession of STOLEN PROPERTY? I have no damn use for a thief, but WHAT KIND OF PROPERTY, and how old was he, and how long ago was it. He could have grown up, and changed his ways. Did he pay his debt to society, or do some of you guys just want to make him pay for the rest of his life? Cause you guys NEVER DONE NOTHIN WRONG. DID YA?
 
 
 
DEE. Good post, there are a lot of darned good folks in this country with felony convictions that were once young and stupid. I know of several leos who lost their jobs over domestic violence records over 20 years old too, been clean ever since. Couldn't legally have a gun=== no more leo. POWDERMAN. 

[Conan The Librarian]

My buddy has a son that is a born loser. He's about 45 now and has been in trouble since he was 13. His early felonies were not very harmful. Drugs and burglary. Then he got caught with a gun. That dramatically changed his status from a periodic criminal to a dangerous criminal and it has haunted him since. He eventually did turn violent, but didn't use a gun. He got less punishment for the violence than he got for making meth at about the same time.

[yellowtail3]

Although I've never heard of anyone trying it, from an academic type discussion I've often wondered if you could simply use a muzzleloader.  The Federal government doesn't consider a muzzleloader to be legally a firearm, nor do most states (I think a few DO though).  From that perspective, you might be able to go that route.  It's definitely a grey area though.   Possibly an option, but not something I'd do without getting advice from a lawyer (and possibly confirmation - preferably in writing - from local chief LEO) first.

I investigated this a few years ago when faced with likelihood of being a felon... and it looked to me like it wouldn't work. You could buy it - the M/L may not be a firearm for FFL transfer purposes - but it is a firearm. That's too bad; I wouldn't feel particularly handicapped in the deer woods with a muzzleloader.

Here's hoping the guy gets out of this undamaged.

Funny thing is...if this goes away for this guy and he doesn't hear anything more, he is probably better off financially (for loosing 2 guns) and spiritually,,,then getting caught up in the system. Life goes on.
..TM7

ALMOST CERTAINLY SO... but then you've got the issue of robbery by two P.O.S. LEOs and abuse of official position, but I'll leave that alone for now. Maybe they're doing him a favor... because NO MATTER WHAT, he is not gonna get his guns back. And the DNR was a jerk for not helping him start his car, but despite what they tell us in grade school... their job isn't helping people, is it?

[Ron 1]

he is really a good guy has grown up alot in the past 11 years yes he did screw up but it was along time ago dose he have to pay for it the rest of his life? any one can buy something stolen with out knowledge of it being stolen. i hope for his sake the dnr just got two new guns and 8 bullets.
it is just hard for me to think he is looking at prison for his love of hunting!
everything else was all in order his liscence  hunting liscence car insurance orange clothing every thing but the past felony.
     rw

[buck460XVR]

ALMOST CERTAINLY SO... but then you've got the issue of robbery by two P.O.S. LEOs and abuse of official position, but I'll leave that alone for now. Maybe they're doing him a favor... because NO MATTER WHAT, he is not gonna get his guns back. And the DNR was a jerk for not helping him start his car, but despite what they tell us in grade school... their job isn't helping people, is it?

Wow....a convicted felon gets caught in possession of multiple guns, has them confiscated because by law he can not have them in his possession, and the Warden is the POS? Not the type of values I instilled on my kids. Sorry, but in MHO, the POS is the offender. He knowingly broke the law by hunting and possessing firearms. He was turned in for trespassing first and was lucky he didn't get busted then by the state police who would have probably taken him to jail. Can't believe he bothered to by a license, most felons don't buy a license because the computerized licensing systems nowadays pick them out.......and wonder, since he was already breaking the law, how many other regulations he violated in pursuing his "love of hunting".  It's a well known fact, most game law violators don't stop at one violation. During deer season, most wardens do not have the time to help violators start the vehicle they were in while committing a violation....and IMHO, shouldn't be criticized for not doing so. If the felon had the monies to obtain two new guns illegally, he shoulda had enough monies to buy a decent battery.

[Dee]

My buddy has a son that is a born loser. He's about 45 now and has been in trouble since he was 13. His early felonies were not very harmful. Drugs and burglary. Then he got caught with a gun. That dramatically changed his status from a periodic criminal to a dangerous criminal and it has haunted him since. He eventually did turn violent, but didn't use a gun. He got less punishment for the violence than he got for making meth at about the same time.

If he got caught cookin meth, he shouldn't have been punished. He should have been head shot, and thrown into an unmarked hole with 50 lbs of lye thrown in on top. He's trash.

[powderman]

In Kentucky, felons can buy, posess, and hunt legally with BP weapons.
BUCK. Good to hear you have never been young and stupid. POWDERMAN. 

[MGMorden]

In Kentucky, felons can buy, posess, and hunt legally with BP weapons.

That would have been my assumption. I know SC's laws, every time it discusses firearms and firearm penalties, consistently mention that blackpowder/muzzleloading weapons are excluded from this legislation.  From everything I can tell, it's a "firearm" by common definition, but not by legal definition.

Indeed, there are people who have did stupid things when they were younger, but the law is the law.  No guns is part of the penance there.  There are still ways to enjoy hunting and the outdoors though.

[nw_hunter]

ALMOST CERTAINLY SO... but then you've got the issue of robbery by two P.O.S. LEOs and abuse of official position, but I'll leave that alone for now. Maybe they're doing him a favor... because NO MATTER WHAT, he is not gonna get his guns back. And the DNR was a jerk for not helping him start his car, but despite what they tell us in grade school... their job isn't helping people, is it?

Wow....a convicted felon gets caught in possession of multiple guns, has them confiscated because by law he can not have them in his possession, and the Warden is the POS? Not the type of values I instilled on my kids. Sorry, but in MHO, the POS is the offender. He knowingly broke the law by hunting and possessing firearms. He was turned in for trespassing first and was lucky he didn't get busted then by the state police who would have probably taken him to jail. Can't believe he bothered to by a license, most felons don't buy a license because the computerized licensing systems nowadays pick them out.......and wonder, since he was already breaking the law, how many other regulations he violated in pursuing his "love of hunting".  It's a well known fact, most game law violators don't stop at one violation. During deer season, most wardens do not have the time to help violators start the vehicle they were in while committing a violation....and IMHO, shouldn't be criticized for not doing so. If the felon had the monies to obtain two new guns illegally, he shoulda had enough monies to buy a decent battery.

WOW I'm thinking you don't have much sympathy for this fellow I just wish more of us could be perfect human beings!

The day a LEO cannot take time to help a stranded motorist (Citizen) felon or other wise, he should turn in his badge and gun, and perhaps become a Sunday school teacher in the "Church of perfect Saints", and that's the kind of values I try to instill in my Kids, and Grand kids.  John 8:7 JMHO