Soldier Gets Back Gun Stolen Five Years Ago
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COLLEYVILLE (CBS11) - A U.S. soldier on leave in Colleyville is celebrating a very unexpected reunion.
A gun stolen from him five years ago in Oklahoma wound up back in his hands in Colleyville.
The story that ended at the Colleyville Police Department is a story that began five years ago in Lawton, Oklahoma, with a soldier, his personal weapon and a series of car break-ins.
"That night those hooligans decided to come along and steal stuff out of my truck and out of my car and they got my pistol," Sgt. Brandon Fuller said. "Then they turn around and use my gun to go to a nightclub and shoot up a bunch of vehicles and stole more things from more people. I just felt absolutely terrible. That was the worst thing that could've happened to responsible gun owner.
"The one time I left a firearm unsecured and it's gone!"
Sgt. Fuller has served in Afghanistan and most recently in South Korea. He'd forgotten about his phone until he stepped back on American soil in Hawaii after returning from Korea.
"Right after turning on my phone, like the second or third phone call, it's the Lawton police department," Fuller recalled.
They'd arrested a man brandishing Fuller's pistol and managed to track it back to Fuller. But the red tape to get the gun to Fuller in Hawaii made it unlikely he would ever see his gun again.
"It was just a mess!" Fuller exclaimed. "It was just a mess trying to get this gun back!!"
But when Fuller came to Colleyville on leave for his wedding, he had a very unexpected wedding present.
He said, "I basically get off the plane here, I get married on Friday. They call me on Friday. They said they're going to ship my gun to Colleyville. I picked it up here on Monday."
After running background checks on him, a Colleyville police employee opened a small cardboard box in the justice Center lobby and presented it to Fuller. Inside was his Glock 9mm handgun secured with a plastic safety device.
"There she is!" Fuller said excitedly.
Working together, Lawton and Colleyville police returned Fuller's gun.
"I'm just elated to have it back," Fuller said with a smile as he secured the pistol in a gun case he'd brought. "Have you ever found a $500 bill? This is it!! Thank you so much for all that you've done!
"I'm sure she's been in bad hands and doing bad things. She's gonna go back to Glock and get maintenance done on her and hopefully one day, when I'm done with the service, I'll be a police officer myself and I would like to use my pistol as my service pistol. I think that would be justice served."
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