Melted gun metal to be poured into Spring City lights

[anonymouse]

Gun melting planned in Spring City
Published: Saturday, July 03, 2010

Spring City Electrical will be teaming up with Spring City Police Department and the Borough of Spring City to melt down 30 years of gun evidence to be poured into streetlights that will stand along Main Street, Spring City.

The guns will be stripped down by Spring City PD and then melted on July 13th at 10 pm at Spring City Electrical's foundry. Spring City's Mayor, Michael A. Weiss, Chief of Police Chief Deidre (Deb) Sherman as well as several Spring City Electrical staff.

An unveiling ceremony is to be scheduled roughly three weeks from the pour. This ceremony will include a plaque donation to the borough from Spring City Electrical.

All events are open to the press. Please contact Tracie Wolf (twolf@springcity.com) for further details on the event.

I wonder how many guns they confiscated in 30 years.

Why are they doing it at 10 pm?

http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/20...5055340416.txt

http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/arti...0008736867.txt

[electronics]

While they could have probably sold the evidence off and made more than enough to buy street lamps, at least they are reusing the metal for something local to their town. I wonder how many of those guns they wouldn't be able to sell due to a lack of serial numbers, or if filing off the serial number isn't as common as I'd think from TV and such...

As to why at 10pm, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe 10pm is the start of the next shift after they have delivered the guns? It also doesn't say how many street lamps they will be making out of the guns...

[PisnNapalm]

They're unveiling street lamps and it's dark at 10pm. Sounds like a good time to "flip the switch" on the lamps.

EDIT:: Nevermind... guess I ought to read each word rather than skimming.

[AKross]

They are doing it at 10PM because they have to wait for dark to sneak up behind those dastardly killing machines and subdue them to take them to the smelter. If they did it during the day they would see the officers coming and become the killing machines that they are.

Bad attitude aside, it is always sad when a precision machine that took months / years of engineering to get just right is turned into something like a steel pole. Every local government should have a evidence store. Anyone can buy old junk the government is getting rid of and if you are permitted by law you can buy evidence firearms that legal to own (serial numbers not taken off, need NFA for autos as usual). Get more money than melting everything down and saving a couple bucks on light poles that's for sure.

[anonymouse]

They're unveiling street lamps and it's dark at 10pm. Sounds like a good time to "flip the switch" on the lamps.

The way I read it, they were melting down the guns at 10pm, and in a few weeks they're going to have the "unveiling ceremony."

[MDJschool]

I don't know what a person can do these days (especially without having standing or perhaps even knowing if they do), but we know that 18 Pa.C.S. § 6111.1(b)(4) says the following:

The Pennsylvania State Police and any local law enforcement agency shall make all reasonable efforts to determine the lawful owner of any firearm confiscated or recovered by the Pennsylvania State Police or any local law enforcement agency and return said firearm to its lawful owner if the owner is not otherwise prohibited from possessing the firearm. When a court of law has determined that the Pennsylvania State Police or any local law enforcement agency have failed to exercise the duty under this subsection, reasonable attorney fees shall be awarded to any lawful owner of said firearm who has sought judicial enforcement of this subsection.

File a RTK request with the for the property-records/chain-of-custody-reports/similar-inventory-type-documents and orders of forfeiture from judges, and you may want to inquire with the local clerk-of-court/prothonotary for such orders as well. I don't think we can even be certain they attempted to have several of those guns forfeited. We do know police can acquire and care little about keeping firearms but they do not receive ultimate possessorship over such property until it is ordered forfeited. However, I don't know how a firearm that one person owns but another stole can be ordered forfeited from the original owner without the owner having received notice of the forfeiture hearing; otherwise he would be deprived of property without due process.

You might also drop a letter off with the Spring City police demanding that they stay conversion of the firearms in their possession until they faithfully execute 6111.1. The next day, apply with the court of common pleas for a writ of some sort (prohibition? mandamus?) to cause compliance with 6111.1 and ask that the court order an emergency stay on the conversion of the firearms until all lawful procedures for their dispossession and conversion have occurred.

The government certainly has no business running a 'gun buy back', even moreso where they don't buy the guns and instead steal them...even though in both scenarios they might celebrate how they will melt the guns down, having gotten them 'off the streets'.

[MDJschool]

I notice on http://www.springcitypa.net/borough.htm that

Borough Council Meetings:
When: The first Monday of every month at 7:30pm.
Where: Borough Hall - 6 South Church Street

I wonder if July 4 observed caused this to be moved to today or next monday.
Borough: 610-948-3660
Police: 610-935-2440
Number for Spring City Electrical(?) from press release: 610-948-4000

§ 3925. Receiving stolen property.
(a) Offense defined.--A person is guilty of theft if he
intentionally receives, retains, or disposes of movable property
of another knowing that it has been stolen, or believing that it
has probably been stolen, unless the property is received,
retained, or disposed with intent to restore it to the owner.
(b) Definition.--As used in this section the word
"receiving" means acquiring possession, control or title, or
lending on the security of the property.

I'm not certain why there wouldn't always be an honest belief that property the police were peddling was stolen without evidence of consent of the possessor or owner (a phrase that is supposed to include stuff like original purchases but is probably not applicable here), or complementing orders of forfeiture (or some other order). The government has a high bar in possessing property and one even higher in converting it. One exception to that is consent. An unlawful seizure is theft, so in every case we should expect a proven exception before receiving property from police.

So maybe someone should let Spring City Electrical know that they wouldn't want to catch a Receiving Stolen Property charge...

[tommy610]

I just emailed them and asked why they are melting down firearms.

[LorDiego01]

Outside of firearms, I think that street-lights are the biggest crime deterrent.

Not cameras, or "safe-zones", or any of that feel-good junk they tried to pass to keep us "safe".

Its guns or bright lights that drive criminals away.

[MDJschool]

Its guns or bright lights that drive criminals away.

Does that mean the dark and gentle forests lit only by serene moonlight are the greatest harbors of the criminal element?