Of course, I took it to the local Maplewood MN police department just to be sure it wasn't stolen.
Here is my letter to the chief and his response below:
Hello Dave,
First off, are you the same Thomalla's that went to St. Jeromes? If so, my father worked with your dad. Did you grow up in the area as well?
Not too far from where they live, on a walk with my mother, we found an antique H&R revolver on the boulevard. We picked it up off the street so no kids would find it and once home, I inspected the revolver before taking it down to the station (case #) to have the serial number ran to see if I could find the rightful owner. At the station, I expressed my interest in keeping the H&R should no records be found. The officer then went in the back room and returned with a card and case number written on it. He stated that a "good faith" effort would be made to find the owner and that a tri-county notification would be put out before turning the property over to me.
After waiting more than a fair amount of time, I called Sgt. Dugas (my contact at the station) and was referred to Buddy Martin, the one handling the investigation. I left a message for Buddy and in turn he left a message on my phone. It states that at this time there have still been no records found on this revolver, stolen or otherwise, but goes on to say that it doesn't mean that it was never used in a crime or stolen. I was then referred to you.
Dave, from the message I received on my phone, I feel as though Buddy would like to hold the antique, non-functioning revolver indefinitely. As a responsible firearms owner, I would like to claim the property and keep it securely in a safe. In my opinion, this is a piece of history that deserves better than to become a manhole cover. I am writing to ask for your help in this matter. I know if anyone could uphold the letter of the law, it would be you. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Ben
Benjamin,
I am from the St. Jerome's family and grew up on McMenemy.
As far as the handgun goes, it is my policy not to release handguns back onto the street once they are in our possession. One problem, in addition to simply putting another gun on the street, is we don't know if a few years from now evidence could come to light that this gun was previously used in a crime. If we release the gun, we no longer would know where to find the gun for sure.
After we attempt to find the owner, we send the gun to the BCA where they attempt a test fire for comparison and ultimately destroy.
Personally, I would rather see any gun turned into a manhole cover than released back onto the streets.
Sincerely,
Dave Thomalla
Not exactly the response I expected but I have learned a valuable lesson. I will never make that mistake again. How can I find out if this is just his policy or if the law backs him up on this?
Just to clarify, I was back home visiting family when this occurred.
Here is my letter to the chief and his response below:
Hello Dave,
First off, are you the same Thomalla's that went to St. Jeromes? If so, my father worked with your dad. Did you grow up in the area as well?
Not too far from where they live, on a walk with my mother, we found an antique H&R revolver on the boulevard. We picked it up off the street so no kids would find it and once home, I inspected the revolver before taking it down to the station (case #) to have the serial number ran to see if I could find the rightful owner. At the station, I expressed my interest in keeping the H&R should no records be found. The officer then went in the back room and returned with a card and case number written on it. He stated that a "good faith" effort would be made to find the owner and that a tri-county notification would be put out before turning the property over to me.
After waiting more than a fair amount of time, I called Sgt. Dugas (my contact at the station) and was referred to Buddy Martin, the one handling the investigation. I left a message for Buddy and in turn he left a message on my phone. It states that at this time there have still been no records found on this revolver, stolen or otherwise, but goes on to say that it doesn't mean that it was never used in a crime or stolen. I was then referred to you.
Dave, from the message I received on my phone, I feel as though Buddy would like to hold the antique, non-functioning revolver indefinitely. As a responsible firearms owner, I would like to claim the property and keep it securely in a safe. In my opinion, this is a piece of history that deserves better than to become a manhole cover. I am writing to ask for your help in this matter. I know if anyone could uphold the letter of the law, it would be you. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Ben
Benjamin,
I am from the St. Jerome's family and grew up on McMenemy.
As far as the handgun goes, it is my policy not to release handguns back onto the street once they are in our possession. One problem, in addition to simply putting another gun on the street, is we don't know if a few years from now evidence could come to light that this gun was previously used in a crime. If we release the gun, we no longer would know where to find the gun for sure.
After we attempt to find the owner, we send the gun to the BCA where they attempt a test fire for comparison and ultimately destroy.
Personally, I would rather see any gun turned into a manhole cover than released back onto the streets.
Sincerely,
Dave Thomalla
Not exactly the response I expected but I have learned a valuable lesson. I will never make that mistake again. How can I find out if this is just his policy or if the law backs him up on this?
Just to clarify, I was back home visiting family when this occurred.
