8mm,
I assume your good friend has first made every effort to find the proper owner of the pistol?
First, I would contact the local police to find out if this pistol has been reported stolen. (The police may take it while making that determination but will return it to him if the rightful owner cannot be found - in Texas at least they will. That's the way "found property" is handled here. They might also run ballistics while they have it.)
Anyone could have been in the house and left the pistol since the previous owner vacated. No, I don't believe that any more than you do, but legally it is a defense. Leaving the pistol when moving is one way of getting rid of a firearm that you bought for a "bargain" and always suspected was stolen or feared had been used in a crime.
When your friend sells it, the buyer registers it if that is required in your state, or even if the buyer has the police check - and it pops up on some registry as stolen, your friend may have a lot of explaining to do. It would be even worse if ballistics were run and this gun matches bullets fired in a crime.
If, after police checks, it comes up clean, I would still contact the previous owner of the house - realtor and county real estate registration both have this information - and ask if the previous owner if they were missing any firearms after the move. (Realtor probably has contact information on them, if not the lawyer handling the deed transfer would - as would some of the neighbors, probably.) Its simply the "right" thing to do. If the friend found a valuable piece of jewelry, he'd do that. The pistol is no different.
If the previous owners can clearly identify the type of pistol (you have not said pistol or long gun, just "firearm") then you know its theirs even if they cannot give you the serial number.
I would make every effort to get it back to them, as I would want them to do if this situation was reversed. You have no idea what the personal value of that pistol is to them. They may not have been able to find Grandpa's bring back luger since the move and fear it was "taken by the movers" or whatever.
If it were my lost property (wedding band, pistol, wallet, etc.), I'd certainly want it back. If it was your friend's, I'll bet he would too.
Talk to your friend and get him to do what he would want done to him, mainly because it is the right thing to do, but also to protect himself. Once proper ownership is established - and he could wind up being the proper owner for "found property" - then its time to figure out the value of the pistol.
Just my 2 cents worth...
Doug
|