To be fair if you’re never caught that’s probably the smartest thing to do.
Someone discovering a gun is 100% gonna call the police and bam they have a good clue.
I can walk 1/2 a mile in any direction and find a body of water or deep woods where it would never be found. Also, I’d field strip it and chunk the parts in different places.
Do you think he had access to those places without looking suspicious?
He was on the run in a town he has no connection too.
There’s water in central park. Would’ve been nothing to chuck the pistol in a pond. Break it down a bit if you’re extra. Slide in one stream, barrel in another, mag, grip, etc until you’ve disposed of it. Or trash cans at various bus stops on the way down to VA. Tbf it’s really easy to back seat something like this. His brain must’ve been running a mile a minute, it’s honestly impressive how well he did