|
|
| Inmate on work crew finds rifle, turns it in |
| By The Tennessean |
| Published: 03/08/2004 |
|
Police hope to determine how a rifle loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition landed in a Wilson County (Tenn.) ditch where it was found by jail inmates on work detail. The rifle, described as a .22-caliber lever-action Browning, was discovered last Tuesday off Vesta Road in the far southwest part of Wilson County. An inmate turned in the rifle to an officer without incident. ''The ammunition still looked to be good,'' Wilson County Sheriff's Detective Dayton Jamison said. ''The stock was broken, but it was still intact. From the way the lever moved, it would probably work. You could tell it had been out in the weather, perhaps two or three months.'' The department uses only nonviolent inmates for its work-detail projects. Jamison did not identify the inmate who turned in the rifle. ''That program is screened carefully,'' Jamison said. ''We're so thankful it was the type of inmate (who found the rifle) that was nonviolent and was honest. If it was an inmate with nothing to lose. ... We're all very thankful. You can think of a million things that might have happened.'' Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe also said he thought the rifle was in working order when it was found. Cindy Arp of Gun City USA in Nashville said the type of Browning found could be worth $350 to $400 in good condition. Jamison said several people he had talked with told him that particular style of Browning would be attractive to many collectors. ''It's not a gun (that) if the stock broke, you would just throw it away in a ditch like that,'' he said. Jamison and Ashe said the rifle would be sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation crime lab to see if it matches as a possible weapon used in any unsolved crimes. If it was a hunting gun, Arp said, the model would be more for small game such as squirrels. Ashe said the gun would be traced in an attempt to find a registered owner, which he said could take some time. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think