Need some info

[Jhow79]

Hello all,
I'm fairly new on this forum and hoping someone can give some advice or thoughts on a recent transaction I made. I recently sold a handgun I had listed on Armslist.com. Prior to the transaction I did all that was required by me in the state of Fl for a private sale including asking buyer if was legally able to purchase a firearm, checked and made sure he had a valid Fl DL, have a bill of sales that also clearly asks if he had been convicted of any crimes or anything else preventing him from purchasing the gun. The bill of sales also recorded all his info including address, drivers license number, date of birth, phone number,ect. It also had all gun info(make and model, condition, serial number, caliber, selling price and description along with all my info as the seller. He assured all was legit and printed his name and signed the bill of sales and I sold him the gun. The next day I checked the county's sheriff records just for a piece of mind and come to find out he was lying and has numerous felony convictions. I contacted the sheriffs office as soon as I found out and they took a police report. While at my local gun shop that I've been dealing with for years I mentioned the situation to the owner and he told me I shouldn't have contacted police because I could get in trouble for selling to a felon. I told him the sheriff was very helpful and polite and agreed I was in no fault, any thoughts? or has anybody ever been in this situation before? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fishingjean]

In my opinion you did all you could do, you can't make folks tell the truth all the time, sad he lied to you, police should follow up on this an he should be in trouble, just my 9 cents !!!

 

[The Pitt]

You did the right thing.

You did not knowingly sell to a felon. If it escalates further then I would certainly hire a lawyer but I think you will be alright. I would be more concerned that said felon now has your address.

 

[SAWMAN]

You did exactly the right thing. No "intent" on your part whatsoever.
Stay forthcoming,honest,and helpful to any and all LEO's including the BATFE if they contact you. There is absolutely no chance that you will be in any kind of trouble for this transaction.
AND . . . go back to that gunshop that told you that you should not have notified the police and tell the owner how full of shit he is,that he has lost your buisness forever,you will tell all your friends what he advised you to do,and that if he has "a problem" with any of that you will go back to the police and notify them (and the BATFE) of what he advised you to do. ---SAWMAN

 

[BamaFan]

You did the right thing.

You did not knowingly sell to a felon. If it escalates further then I would certainly hire a lawyer but I think you will be alright. I would be more concerned that said felon now has your address.

I agree here id be more concerned that this Felon that now has your address and will soon know you reported him. I'd be less worried about pawn shop gossip and advice. Hopefully he is a nice understanding Felon

 

[JWlineman]

I'll share my opinion as well. You did the right thing. By being up front/honest about the transaction you showed your intent to do the right thing. Had the felon been caught with the firearm and linked back to you, you'd be ok with a bill of sale but definitely more questioning from LEO. Not sure why a LGS would recommend keeping it from the authorities but nevertheless, I agree with your actions.

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[wildrider666]

Jhow79, You went above and beyond what is required by Law to make the sale. Your peace of mind Records follow up showed the buyer actually gave false information and commited a crime (purchasing a firearm by a restricted person/felon in possession of a firearm. You did you civic duty to report it and in the process were proactive in establishing you exceeded legal requirements at the time of the sale. Their is a very high level of suspicion if the gun turns up and LE tracks it back to you. This puts you life under a microscope until such time they can verify the gun changed hands legally. Don't stress out on this. Make Certifief True Copies of your B.O.S. and any downloaded Rap Sheet info if LE has not taken posession of them, sometimes paperwork gets misplaced.

The idiot at the gun shop who thinks aiding and abetting a felon by concealing a crime should be fired. If you followed that bad advice you could have face criminal liability. That employee creates liability for customers and the business. If the guy is the owner he should have his license pulled. He may have had ill informed good intentions but piss poor insight of the legal ramifications.

You have displayed great personal integrity, responsibility to do the right thing. I am Proud of you.

 

[rj1978]

Hate to hear this. This is exactly what the liberals hold against us. This is why the gun show loophole comes up all the time in debates. I don't think you should be to worried being you did right with the bill of sale. You have to remember some gun shops hate individual sales as this competes with their business. It sounds like the guy went out of his way to scare you. Sorry this happened to you. I can say I have done business with several people on here and it has all been very positive. I believe it's a police matter from here but you could probably speak to a lawyer for free and get some peace of mind out of it, maybe contact the NRA.

 

[Welldoya]

I think you will be fine. You did a lot more than most of us do when selling a gun.
I wouldn't worry about the guy showing up at the house, he will be in jail.
I always kind of measure up a potential buyer. How did this guy look?

 

[wildrider666]

As this felon was local to you, others here may have unknowingly sold to him. He is a felon committing more crime and therefore should not be afforded privacy on this site. A link to a mugshot (public info) may lead to recognition by others and help build a bigger case against him.

 

[Jasonb]

Agree with all the others.... You did the right thing. Let the sheriffs take care of it now.

 

[oneshot]

You did the right thing, just my 100 cents jj

 

[Big Shrek]

I think everyone should know their County Clerk of Court website for exactly this reason.

Anytime I sell a firearm (Rare, mostly buy), I'll run their name thru Esc, SR, & Oka court records,
also the county jail reports, BEFORE I ever meet 'em...
If I get a hincky kinda feeling when talking to 'em over the phone,
it's fairly easy to do a national search

 

[Mouser]

Excellent post...you really did your homework and were thorough and like the others, reporting it was the right thing to do and I think because you were so thorough and followed the law to the letter, there will be no fallout to you. The felon, however, is likely to find himself incarcerated again very shortly. I dont think I've sold one of my guns since I was a teenager so I really didn't know all of the info you shared. I suspect I will sell some in the future and a CC permit would make me feel much, much better but that is not always an option....and Big Shrek, I am not sure what Esc, SSR and Oka is so if you could expand on that or post some links, I would be interested in saving that info. I have a Ruger 10/22 bull barrel and thumbhole stock and a CZ 75b Retro that I'd like to turn in to something else one day so I would be looking at the process maybe

 

[JVaughn1]

Just use the "Hillary Clinton Defense". I didn't know any better. I can't recall. I had a senior moment. Uhh uhhh uhhh.... Works for her lying ass.


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