Here's a question

[narowl12]

My workplace has a "garage sale" each summer when they sell all unclaimed lost and found items. It is a college so there are lots of cool things that students lose and never come get from the police officers; which begs the question....How do you lose a whole back pack full of pottery and clothes and then not check lost and found?
Ahh...youth....

Anyway, I bought a Verizon LG enV for just a few bucks. Knowing I would be taking a chance I got it anyway as the proceeds benefit the Child Care Center on site.
As I sort of suspected the ESN came back as lost/stolen.

Here is my question. Is there any way to make this phone usable on PP?
Just a shot in the dark, but thought I would ask as there are a bunch of you out there who know WAY more than I do about things like this.
Thanks,
Nancy

[groze]

Nancy,

I think it is released after 1 year but I am not sure. That may have changed. However, you might want to turn police to see if they can find the owner and if they want the phone back. If they don't the owners can call and unreport it as lost/stolen. Just make sure you tell the police where you bought the phone. You don't want to get charged with receiving stolen property.

[narowl12]

Nancy,

Just make sure you tell the police where you bought the phone. You don't want to get charged with receiving stolen property.

It actually came from our police as they take care of the lost and found on campus. I borrowed a charger and will charge it up and take a look at it. See if I can figure out who owns it and go from there.
Thanks for the help!
Nancy

[groze]

If you have a receipt from the Campus police department, showing your purchase. You should be able to take it to the verizon store and have the esn released. Once a police/sheriff department resell items, they are perfectly legal to sell or own even if the were stolen or lost before.

[narowl12]

You're a wizard. I am going to try that. I'll let you know. Thanks!
Nancy

[groze]

narowl12
Actually, the campus police department should of got the esn released after the 30 day waiting period.

Nancy, are the Campus police, considered real police? Some states consider them real police, other states don't.

I just want to make sure you don't get in trouble with the real police. If you have a real police (Not campus) friend, you might want to ask them first.

[narowl12]

Groze, you are very nice to think of these things for me. Our campus police are uniformed, gun carryin', arrest you if you're bad, take you jail, police. I haven't had an opportunity to talk to the Chief yet. Many of the officers are good acquaintances so I would rather throw the thing away than ask them to do something, or do something myself that is unethical or simply wrong.
Thanks again.
Nancy

[groze]

narowl12
Let me explain further. Some states considered Campus police security guards even if they were former police officers. The way you described it, that state considers them police officers.

I am not sure about laws in every state. Once a police department, sheriff, or state police auction stuff that was reposed, stolen or lost, it is again a legal product. For stolen/reposed cars, the police file a special title and it makes the car legal again.

On the phone issue, I really don't know who has to have the device released, the police or verizon? This is whole different issue than buying a lost or stolen phone online.

Kitty,
Any ideas. How narowl12 should go about getting the esn released, since it was bought legally from a police auction/sell?