Yeah, except I was extremely pissed about driving around for two weeks with a loaded gun under the seat. What would have happened if I’d been pulled over for something? I wouldn’t give permission to search, but I also had no clue the gun was there!
There are some horror stories out there to be sure about situations like that... lots of lawyer time at the least... but the golden rule doesn’t prescribe inflicting your own negative karma so to speak (especially on hypotheticals).
Who knows in a situation like that, you might find he’s glad it’s gone because of his own legalities (protection orders are often filed in nasty divorces, and there could be domestic violence allegations etc.). But it’s best to leave the circumstance determinations to the good Lord... just saying.