Please Help-Gun SEIZURE Questions

[vg247]

My brother's home in SAN JOSE, CA was burglarized today and he had called the police, they did a thorough report and cleared the house..As he is a legal gun owner who registered his CAR-15 rifle in 2000 when they asked if he had any weapons he told he did. It was locked in a case and unloaded- what upsets me was that my brother told me the cops spent more time questioning the gun than the home being broken into after the saw it's appearance collapsible stock, emptied AR mags,etc.

The officer said it was procedure to run the serial number and my brother had no problems as it was legally owned and registered. After two hours of being on the phone with the DOJ, ATF he came back and said there were no records for the gun and as a result they had to bring in into their "ASSAULTS" unit to look into.

**My bro's concern's- he clearly registered and what if the system is screwed up that they can't find the record. Was this legal for the cops to do although they were called there for a burglary?? What if the cop just keeps the gun and never turns it in, as my brother asked for something in writing that he took possession of it and he insisted that it will just go on the case report with the home burglary(so when calling them just use that case #). LAstly what if the police do find a legal record for the gun but they just want one less firearm on the street and come back saying "because there are no records" they will keep it?? Please advise on proper legal actions and what to do ...thank you all for your help.

[bwiese]

Does he have his AW registration paperwork? He should keep original in safety deposit box and copies in safe, car, truck...

DOJ recordkeeping on AWs may have flaws in recorded serial numbers and makes/models - some brands are 'translated' into others. Sometimes serial numbers got trucated, or the owner submitted the serial number but not , say, an alphanumeric prefix.

San Jose PD doesn't have a great record with knowning what is & isn't an assault weapon.

[I assume the reg means the 2000 AW reg, and not the 4473/DROS when he bought it in 1999 or earlier?]

[Rob454]

Since he let them in and showed them the weapon there is no real wrongful search and seisure. He needs to find his paperwork. Personally I wouldnt tell the cops jack S**T except what had to do with the burglary.
Rob

[Dont Tread on Me]

This backs up what Bill quoted a while back that most "assault" weapon encounters occur when cops enter homes, not on traffic stops.

This raises an interesting question. What do you say to the police when they have entered your house with your permission to clear it after a burglary and they start asking about weapons? Are you within your rights to refuse to answer such a question and withdraw your permission from them to be there? Or are you obliged to show them your guns?

[vg247]

Hello- thanks for the response...I had asked my brother and he didn't seem to be able to find the AW registration at the moment when the police were there.

Yes the registration was for the AW one, and indeed they police were clueless they didn't know anything about the firearms laws or highcap mag laws..just that their eyes widen I was told when the saw the CAR-15.

We are just assuming worst case scenarios and want to know if this procedure was legally carried out by the police or what legal actions to take since the officer did not leave my brother anything confirming his receipt/taking the firearm.

Even when my brother asked if he could keep the mags, so there would be less chance of them losing more items, the officer insisted they kept the mags as well...

Thanks again, any suggestions and attorney referrals are very much appreciated

[JPglee1]

Originally Posted by vg247

the officer insisted they kept the mags as well...

He says "Thanks" he needed more for his issue rifle


Good luck getting non serial-ized magazines back...


J

[Dont Tread on Me]

No receipt! I think it is time to get a lawyer now. It makes me sick to think that if the cops do search my house they might confiscate my standard cap mags. Perhaps my SU16 and M1A will look evil to them and they will grab them too.

I'm very sorry to hear about what happened here. I hope the only good side is that this thread can reveal what to do to stop the cops from seeing your guns and what to do if they take them.

Your brother should put a sign up in-front of his house. "Robbed twice today. Once by unknown individuals. Once by the PD"

[KenpoProfessor]

Well, we all knew it could happen, and it did, love that abuse under color of authority.

Tell your brother good luck getting them back but if he wants it back, he better find the paperwork, and even then, snowball's chance in Hades. Hopefully you'll find a good attorney but they will cost as much as the gun and mags are worth.

At least inform him he can still buy an OLL.

Have a great Kenpo day

Clyde

[JPglee1]

Originally Posted by ca_brit_05

I hope the only good side is that this thread can reveal what to do to stop the cops from seeing your guns and what to do if they take them.

Probably the best thing to do is don't have them in your house, if you're burgled for a TV or something, write it off as a life tax... You won't see it again anyway and you'll just waste the cops time and invite such antics to possibly happen.

I got robbed at gun point once and the cops spent the whole time trying to "trip me up" and get me to change my story, I got interviewed about 10x in 2 days over and over and nothing ever came of it, except making ME feel like the crook. They were sure it was some kinda street deal gone bad or something, when in reality it was some random with a gun that got one over on me (I opened the door like a maroon without looking first...DOH)


J

[xenophobe]

AW registration is the process of sending a form with a check to the DOJ and receiving a confirmation letter. If your brother never received a confirmation letter from the DOJ with an Assault Weapon Registration Number and the particular firearm listed, then it may not be registered, even if the paperwork was sent in before the deadline.

Your brother would need to CALL the DOJ on the phone, ask if they have his records and check if they've been processed, or if they are still being held because of a discrepancy on the forms.

Many people's registration paperwork that was either not complete or had info that was missing or subject to DOJ confusion was put in a box and set aside. These registration documents were never entered into the computer, waiting for the owner to contact them to correct any mistakes that might be on them.

Once he takes care of this, if they find his paperwork was submitted before the deadline, they will issue an Assault Weapon Registration Confirmation letter. Then he will take the AW confirmation letter to the police, and they will release the firearm, as long as there isn't any other charges pending.

IF your brother mistakenly thought that filling out paperwork at a gun shop was "registration" he will most likely need to prove that he purchased the firearm before the ban. If he does not, then he may face felony charges.

That is how it works with DOJ and in Santa Clara County.

If your brother needs a contact number for AW Registration at DOJ, PM me and I'll give you that number to call to straighten out any paperwork, if he did indeed send his registration in.