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Man who turned in gun could face prison

post #1 of 8
11/13/09 at 2:03am
Thread Starter 
http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/n...l/article.html

This is just stupid. A 27 year old former soldier is facing a prison term for turning in a discarded shotgun he found in his garden to the police station. Instead of thanking him for doing a good deed he was arrested and convicted. The police said he was just supposed to call the station and not touch it so they could retrieve it. When asked if he knew about the procedure he said he didn't. IMO, the police overreacted, and the jurors are buffoons. Never let it be said that a good deed never goes unpunished. Bureaucracy at its "finest".
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post #2 of 8
11/13/09 at 4:57am
Would it be possible that someone with an illegal weapon decides to get rid of it by claiming that they found it and turning it in to the police???
I don't know if that's a possibility because I don't know much about guns, but maybe that's what the police think happened?
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post #3 of 8
11/13/09 at 5:11am
Here's the thing that really ticks me off about stuff like this; government on all levels is so ridiculously strung with red tape because there's a law or legislation to cover every activity imaginable, and all variables within. And yet here you have a situation like this, where the specifics and intent are of no consequence, and are swept aside by the absurdly broad brush of the law. And don't give me the "ignorance of the law is no excuse" bit, because you'd need a law degree to be versed in the most basic of legal nuances, most of which defy common sense.

I can't stand it. I feel the urge to spout obscenities.
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post #4 of 8
11/13/09 at 5:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ut0pia View Post
Would it be possible that someone with an illegal weapon decides to get rid of it by claiming that they found it and turning it in to the police???
I don't know if that's a possibility because I don't know much about guns, but maybe that's what the police think happened?
That was my first thought as well. Perhaps the public haven't got all the information that was presented in court and there is more to this story than what meets the eye.
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post #5 of 8
11/13/09 at 7:46am
Let this be a lesson to all that live in the UK, if you find a gun, just leave it and go on your merry way. They do NOT appreciate Good Samaritan's in the UK. In fact, they prosecute them.
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post #6 of 8
11/13/09 at 9:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckblv View Post
Let this be a lesson to all that live in the UK, if you find a gun, just leave it and go on your merry way. They do NOT appreciate Good Samaritan's in the UK. In fact, they prosecute them.
Except if he'd left it alone, since it was on his property, he would have been technically in posession of a gun the whole time, and if anyone had noticed he could have gotten in trouble for that too. Maybe what he needed to do was drive out into the middle of nowhere and drop it down a well.
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post #7 of 8
11/13/09 at 9:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ebrillblaiddes View Post
Maybe what he needed to do was drive out into the middle of nowhere and drop it down a well.
good idea...honestly it seems like it's not his fault but I don't blame the police for this either. They can't just assume he's telling the truth that he just found it just because he has a clean record and used to be in the military. According to the law he IS in possession of an illegal weapon so what else can they do besides arrest him and let him explain his situation in court? Cops aren't there to think they just follow procedures...Although I do see how it's unfair, by no means do I think this is right.. but maybe someone who is smart enough can come up with a better system to serve justice?
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post #8 of 8
11/16/09 at 11:21am
This guy has previously been charged with attacking a DVLA inspector with a broom. He was acquitted, but I think I'd like to know all the facts of the case before passing judgment one way or the other. He seems to have just been trying to do the right thing, but he apparently found the shotgun a couple of days before he handed it in, which seems a little odd to me.
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