I need some advice as how to take this to the next level as far as how to file interstate charges,

[howie1a]

Since neither terry or myself have received either payment for the rifles we shipped or payment but only empty promises , I think I will need to take this to the next level. Meaning interstate fraud charges, Is their any members that can help any advise will be appreciated, I know maybe I am being a PIA but I don't like being ripped off. thanks Howie

[lillysdad621]

talk to DA. if you have proof that the rifles existed, that you shipped them (tracking numbers help) and that someone received them in another state, your state's DA will contact the other state's DA office and a summon would be issued. It is standard policy but i will take time.

[tat2dman]

Talk to rhe post office about nail fraud,unless you used pay pal...

[triry]

Howie, after following the threads regarding this transaction, one option that may work for you is to contact the parole office/agent who alledgely seized the rifle in your transaction. typically, weapons that are seized are held in "evidence" until such time as ownership can be determined. if ownership is not determined the weapon will generally be destroyed.
you can likley provide facsimile copies of the transaction, illustrating a good faith sale, particularly to illustrate transfer of the rifle, reciept of as well as non-payment.
this MAY allow your rifle to be returned to you.
additionally, this course of action will provide a time line, as well as to establish the prerequiste and necessary grounds for any future or intended need  to pursue fraud charges.

[jayschevy]

not trying to hijack this thread.i dont understand how a probation officer would sieze a pellet  gun from anyone?(it was an air rifle wasnt it,that you shipped?)did he get charges earlier from using a pellet gun.?
how did the prob. officer know he had it to start with? im not the brightest bulb in the pack by a longshot,but i find that story hard to believe.i hope you get your property back and have the legal dept. burn him a new one.i dont care for thieves at all.

[howie1a]

Just to let you know what happened I had worked out a trade my Beeaman RW2 with the 2 barrels and the case that it goes into plus 25 bucks for a B26-2, I shipped the Beeman and never got the B26-2, in the mean time I got a PM from a other member that he also sent a rifle to the same person I was dealing with and he told me he is waiting 2 weeks after he should have got his rifle and hopes my trade works out He traded the B26-2, the one  I was to have got, Now my beeman got deliveried  I had set up the shipping with a shipping conf. and the postoffice said it was deliveried.And neither rifle that was to be shipped back to me and the other member never came the timing doesn't seem right since the since the my rifle should have reached the seller after the PO took the air rifles. I'm not sure how air rifles ( guns ) fir into probation rules they can be looked at as weapons. And we have some very smart people on this form and I am hoping to get some good feedback as what is the best way to handle this I've tried all other ways but just promises of payment for the rifles but no cash coming yet. since this involves 2 of us and the amt of the one trade is over 175 bucks and the other is higher this could be looked at as grand theft or interstate fraud.Their should be something that  the police should be able to do. howie

[longislandhunter]

Howie,,,,,,

I'm a retired law enforcement officer  and during my career I worked often with probation and parole officers and on occasion assisted them in their duties which included confiscating weapons that the person on probation was prohibited from possessing.  That being said I can tell you that a probation/parole officer has the legal authority to confiscate items from a parolee or someone on probation if the item violates the terms of the probation or parole,, that certainly includes air rifles.  

That being said I can tell you that any items confiscated by a parole/probation officer is fully documented in his/her incident report along with all the pertinent information concerning the incident.  Part of that official documentation would also include invoicing the item (airgun) for safe keeping as evidence of the probation violation so that it would be available should the probation violation matter wind up going to court or a judicial hearing.  

My suggestion is this......... if you have the residential address of the person you shipped the rifle to then it should be a simple matter of finding out the probation department involved in the case.  Give them a call.  Provide the name of the person you shipped the rifle to and tell the probation dept. that you need to speak to the probation officer who is charged with overseeing the probation for that individual.  They will be more than happy to connect you to the proper probation officer.  Discuss the matter with the probation officer.  He should be able to tell you what procedure you have to follow to have your air rifle returned to  your custody,,, however keep in mind that the air rifle may not be able to be returned to you until the probation violation matter has run it's course.  You will of course need to be able to prove ownership with some sort of sales receipt, warranty registration, etc......

As a side note..... I have no doubt that the probation officer will be VERY interested in the fact that this person has purchased other air rifles in the past, these prior purchases also being a violation of the conditions of his probation and a matter that the probation officer will no doubt be very happy to investigate.....

Hope this helps you out some.....

Jeff

[triry]

as yet another former law enforcement officer, ive got to stand behind the comments that jeff articulated so well.  
an air rifle per-se does not fall under the legal ( US Codes ) description of a firearm, but as Jeff pointed out, it may in fact constitue a vioaltion of condition of release/parole in the terms of release specific to the member who recieved it.
using the known resources on hand, ie: address, name, etc, it should be relatively easy to make contact with the agent who took possesion of your rifle.

[Schmidty25]

I hope you get your rifle back.  it's such a shame that a few bad apples can ruin it for everyone.  Thats why you have to suspect the worst from everyone!  It's hard to trust anybody in this day and age.

[tunaboat]

triry - 8/20/2009  4:06 PM

as yet another former law enforcement officer, ive got to stand behind the comments that jeff articulated so well.  
an air rifle per-se does not fall under the legal ( US Codes ) description of a firearm, but as Jeff pointed out, it may in fact constitue a vioaltion of condition of release/parole in the terms of release specific to the member who recieved it.
using the known resources on hand, ie: address, name, etc, it should be relatively easy to make contact with the agent who took possesion of your rifle.

You can put me in that former law enforcement officer's club too.  Jeff nailed it in the advice department.  Making contact with the guy's PO should get you some results.

[Bogey]

Howard, I know this is a late post regarding your plight but I may be able to give you some insight.
You should ask yourself how much time, money, effort and hassle are you willing to invest in this situation?
Deadbeats/Crooks know that it is difficult to persue them long distance by any means.  The system is over loaded with more serious crimes and small crimes get pushed to the side.
I have had to file lawsuits in the past .  Two this year alone for many 10s of thousands of dollars.  A judgement was made in our favor in Febuary  09 and not one cent has been paid and I doubt none will be.  The judge actually said that the defendant could make $100. per month payments.  At that rate not even the interest is paid.
Also, I was contacted regarding another suit yesterday and was informed it was coming up soon and should expect a summons.  This suit will be 11yrs old in October of 09.

You may just want to be older and wiser in this matter and chalk it up to a learning experience.

I know you are angry at having trusted someone that shafted you.  But it happens and the crooks have the advantages.

[RedFeather]

You may also want to look into the local laws where they buyer lives.  Here in my county, airguns ARE considered firearms.

I once bought a pristine last-year production Remington .22 pump at a pawnshop for a ridiculous price.  Didn't have full payment, but put some money down.  Came back to get it and it turned out to have been picked up by the local police as part of some court case.  It sat in the property room for over six months before being released (whereupon the pawnshop promptly resold it for a lot more.  It wasn't worth my time and trouble to try to get it back through the small claims court.)  So, if your gun is being held pending the outcome of an investigation, make yourself comfortable because I will bet it's going to be a long wait.  Then again, if you can contact the PO, they might be able to expedite things and have your gun shipped back, although at your expense.