Posted on 04/04/2006 10:27:59 AM PDT by Born Conservative
WILKES-BARRE A handgun belonging to the Luzerne County Sheriffs Department that had been reported stolen was recovered Sunday from the vehicle of a deputy sheriff who had mistakenly reported the vehicle stolen, Sheriff Barry Stankus said.
Patrick Fina, 22, had reported his 2005 Volkswagen Golf, which contained his a 9 mm Sig Sauer service weapon, was stolen from the area of East Jackson and North Main streets at around 3:41 a.m. Sunday, according to a press release issued by city police.
On Monday, Stankus said Fina made the report after he was unable to locate his car where he believed he had parked it. City police later located the vehicle, and Fina realized he had been mistaken regarding the location he had left the vehicle, Stankus said.
He returned to where he felt he parked the vehicle and it wasnt there. He was under the impression someone stole it. Wilkes-Barre police were contacted and he subsequently realized it was parked elsewhere, Stankus said.
Police Chief Gerry Dessoye said the car was located in the 100 block of North Washington Street, about a block away from where Fina had reported it was stolen. Dessoye said he had no further information about the circumstances of the incident.
Stankus said it is common for deputy sheriffs to carry their department-issued weapons in their private vehicles so that they can respond to an emergency situation, if needed. He said Finas weapon was in a secure location in the vehicle. City police recovered the handgun and turned it over to the sheriffs department Sunday night.
Stankus could provide no explanation as to why Fina was mistaken regarding the vehicles location.
Whether it was confusion or an oversight, all I know is everything was looked into and investigated and it was determined the vehicle was not stolen, Stankus said.
Fina could not be reached for comment Monday. Stankus said he is currently in training for the sheriffs department being held at an area university.
Woe to those who abuse that authority...at least where I work
I'm thinking it was booze. Thanks for narrowing it down.
I can think of three possible explanations: Booze, booze and booze."
And I'll bet he had absolutely no intentions on driving it home, probably just wanted to pat it's hood on his walk home.
Depending on the jurisdiction, off-duty cops cannot carry their weapons into a bar. That's why cops go to cop bars.
I certainly hope he doesn't even make it to beat cop.
Why do I suspect large quantities of liquor were involved.
I know they're out there but the only cop bars I've ever seen are on TV
I'd be willing to bet there are many more; Wilkes-Barre is infested with bars....
I was there once with one of my Marine buddies (both of us very well lubricated), when he took exception to some knucklehead who was "exaggerating" his military experience. I had the pleasure of watching a five-second demonstration of open-hand fighting technique. My first reaction was "if these cops get up, I'm screwed." My second, "will I be out of the jail/emergency room in time for my brother's birthday party." My third, "why are these cops not getting-up."
Turns out that the guy getting pummelled was not a cop, and some of the cops were Marines themselves.
Here's the interesting thing: after the fireworks, one of the cops gets up, walks over to me (I haven't moved), and says, "You guys can't stay here. Do you need help getting home?"
--some criminal genius attempted to rob a cop bar in Las Vegas a few years ago and died in the process--the only officer to shoot him did it with a .25 ACP, IIRC---
We had a few Chicago PD guys come out our way for a mountain bike patrol course a few years back. I won't paint the whole PD with a broad brush here, but talking with these two guys was difficult, like explaining things to an arrogant superiority complex
Completely understandable. Chicago cops tend to swagger. Nonetheless, my experiences with them have always been professional.
Yes, as long as you are NOT drinking.
I recall they used the word "jagoff" or something close to it a lot
Many was the time (after the bars closed), that I had no clue as to where my car was, who I was and where I was supposed to go. But I'm Irish by descent so that explains it.
I finally figured out that was why I was issued a driver's license was so at the end of the day I'd know who I was and where I was supposed to go.
Hey, his last name is already Stankus. Do you think he is short of nicknames???
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