Legal advice or direction

[rigwelder]

Ok so its kind of a long story but to keep it short and sweet. Basically a police agency confiscated a legally registered and owned pistol of mine during a traffic stop. The ruling on the case involved it being released back to me but the arresting agency can not produce it. they have provided proof they took it into evidence but are admitting they can not find it. so my question is what if anything can be done about this and what should the next course of action be? like i said there is alot more to the story but that pretty much is what it boils down to. I have been calling multiple attorneys but no luck on anyone willing to help so far. Another area of concern is the fact that the pistol involved is no longer on the roster so i cant just replace it with a new one. If anyone can message me to discuss further or point me in an appropriate direction it would be appreciated

[MountainLion]

Let's assume that there is nothing you or your attorney can do to cause the missing gun to be found, and that the agency has done what they can. Mistakes happen, and you won't realistically get any punishment for a mistake. You should get your damages reimbursed though.

It's not surprising that no attorney wants to deal with this case: The gun is probably worth between $300 and $1000, as most pistols are, excluding some rare and unusual collectibles. Most attorneys charge between $400 and $500 per hour. So spending an hour or two on letter writing, phone calls, and threat of lawsuit is silly.

The best you can hope for is financial compensation. Start by coming up with a reasonable estimate of the value of the gun. For example: what you bought it for, and then correct for inflation. Since it can't be replaced with a new one (off-roster), look at typical price of a used one of the same model. Or search around for a similar model (for example: the Cz SP-01 is now off-roster, but it is similar in characteristics and quality to a Sig P226, which is for sale as a new pistol), and quote that price. You might come up with three different values (for example $500, $900 and $700) using different approaches, so take the average. When I say "reasonable", I mean: something you'd be willing to defend in front of a judge and jury, without getting laughed out of the courtroom.

And then file a claim for reimbursement. You can't just sue the agency in small claims court; part of civil procedure is that you first have to file a claim with the agency. The desk sergeant there can probably give you instructions; if not, most courthouses have a self-help center where they have forms and instructions available. Typically, for LE agencies, the claim is against the city (for PD) or the county (for sheriff). The claim typically is addressed to the governing board (supervisors or city council). As an example, this link explains how to do it for LA county: https://bos.lacounty.gov/claims-for-damages/

[BAJ475]

Ok so its kind of a long story but to keep it short and sweet. Basically a police agency confiscated a legally registered and owned pistol of mine during a traffic stop. The ruling on the case involved it being released back to me but the arresting agency can not produce it. they have provided proof they took it into evidence but are admitting they can not find it. so my question is what if anything can be done about this and what should the next course of action be? like i said there is alot more to the story but that pretty much is what it boils down to. I have been calling multiple attorneys but no luck on anyone willing to help so far. Another area of concern is the fact that the pistol involved is no longer on the roster so i cant just replace it with a new one. If anyone can message me to discuss further or point me in an appropriate direction it would be appreciated

PM me. I am a CA licensed attorney and will offer you a one hour free consultation.

[Ishooter]

Hope that you'll get your gun back or get a compensation. It looks like you're getting some good help here.

[Elgatodeacero]

BAJ475 looks to have you covered, but you will need to immediately file a timely government claim against the city or county for the FMV value of your property, and if they reject your claim you will need to file suit against them (sounds like small claims court in terms of amount).

[rigwelder]

Appreciate the responses guys and BAJ475 pm sent . I do have to say so far nothing is looking promising looks like all that is going to happen is that pistol get taken out of my name and we just ignore the fact that essentially a law enforcement officer ended up with my pistol out of evidence

[MajorSideburns]

File a complaint with the internal affairs division of the agency describing your lost or stolen firearm from the evidence locker, and include the allegation that you suspect theft from evidence by a corrupt officer. If the agency isn't completely corrupt, the IA officers will do their job and something tells me your handgun will miraculously turn up after someone gets a stern talking to for poor record keeping and evidence handling protocols or actual criminal activity.

[MajorSideburns]

File a complaint with the internal affairs division of the agency describing your lost or stolen firearm from the evidence locker, and include the allegation that you suspect theft from evidence by a corrupt officer. If the agency isn't completely corrupt, the IA officers will do their job and something tells me your handgun will miraculously turn up after someone gets a stern talking to for poor record keeping and evidence handling protocols or actual criminal activity.

This is also a simple and free option so it might be worth trying before spending money on a lawyer or dealing with the hassle of filing a legal suit. Almost every agency has 24 hour surveillance recording of the evidence room and inner station so tracking down what happened to the handgun should be extremely simple. They are giving you the runaround because they don't want to comply with the court ruling. For what reason, we can only guess. Laziness, spite, embarrassment, thievery, who knows. Good luck.

[DB>]

Not an atty, but I'd suggest asking that they supply a "chain of custody" for the missing firearm - since it's "evidence" they should have it documented? "Someone" should have signed it in, and perhaps determining who that was might "discover" the missing item in question, if you catch my drift... If the returning of the gun to your posession is part of a court order, I'm wondering if you could seek Court assistance in the judges orders being completed as ruled? I remember seeing plenty of stories about agencies "losing" firearms, so I guess it happens, but considering there are laws requiring reports of lost or stolen firearms, a law enforcement agency should be held to account when a gun "goes missing".

Not sure if your gun was anything "special", other than "off roster", but it's hard to imagine that it's anything valuable enough for someone to risk "5 fingering" and being disciplined or fired over? Another angle might be to see if the serial # (if you have it, or it should be logged per the above) has been DROS'd anywhere since the time it "went missing"? At the least it might be worth reporting it as STOLEN (missing) in case it does show up in the system?

[Rickybillegas]

How much do you think the gun was worth, ball park?

[Enzo rules]

BAJ475 looks to have you covered, but you will need to immediately file a timely government claim against the city or county for the FMV value of your property, and if they reject your claim you will need to file suit against them (sounds like small claims court in terms of amount).

This, don’t wait.

[rigwelder]

How much do you think the gun was worth, ball park?

gun was an HK usp 9mm v1 not sure on the value i guess around a grand. the department apparently is working with the DOJ on getting it reported as not in my possession.

[BAJ475]

gun was an HK usp 9mm v1 not sure on the value i guess around a grand. the department apparently is working with the DOJ on getting it reported as not in my possession.

Report as not in your possession? That is BS. They need to either pay you its value as an off roster handgun in CA or replace it with whatever you are willing to accept.

As I said, you can PM me, and we can converse where what you say is protected by the attorney client privilege.

[RickD427]

File a theft report, and ask that they enter the firearm in NCIC as stolen.

Bad idea.

You're on notice that the weapon has been lost or misplaced. If you file a "Stolen" report, you may find yourself charged with the making of a false report of a crime.

The fact that someone cannot properly account for your property is different from a theft of that property.

[RickD427]

Perhaps the Evidence Custodian had a boating accident?

Something is clearly wrong here. The firearm may not be stolen, but all principles of evidence care are intended to prevent such an occurrence.

I'd recommend requesting a full investigation of the loss. The agency will probably deny you access to the completed investigation, but such attempts at keeping such investigative materials secret can usually be defeated through discovery once a suit is filed.