imported post
LEO 229 wrote:
molonlabetn wrote:
LEO 229 wrote:
smccomas wrote:
LEO 229 heres a question what would happen if the individual who owned the firearm called the state police and reported it stolen? That would atleast create a paper trail so that if anything happens with his firearm he can prove that he was not in possesion.
When the owner provided the details.... the State police would stop and there would be no report.
If it was taken as evidence or safekeeping... there is no "theft" unless the gun never made it into the property room and could not be accounted for.
Perhaps this would be a good reason to at least go ask for a reciept for the gun, for added accountability. If they cannot or refuse to provide such, then you might have a basis for reporting it stolen.
My agency does not provide a receipt. Someone can confirm it is in the property room. At best... you might be able to get a copy of the property sheet.
I am not sure why they do not provide a receipt.. Not a bad idea if you ask me.
Whether they have a book ofconfiscation receiptsor can print one out of their ticket machine or neither,you can get a receipt if something like this happens. Just take a piece of paper, and while he's writing out the ticket for whatever you were stopped for, you take any plain piece of paper (it's a good idea to keep a pad of scratch paper and a pen handy) and write down, in itemized format, what was confiscated (gun, magazine(s), holster,and count/type of ammunition), the date confiscated, and the general condition. When he asks you to sign the ticket, you ask him to verify the contents of the list are accurate, then sign the list and give his badge number. You now have a receipt. If he refuses to sign said list, you're not signing the ticket. It's mutual culpability; he's trying to get you to agree to appear for the ticket, without promising any safekeeping or return of your property.
As far as reasonable search and seizure, I think the officer's golden. The weapon was in plain sight otherwise the officer wouldn't have seen it, there was suspicion a crime had been committed, and thus the weapon was confiscated as evidence; failure to do so in the absence of any other reason to detain or arrest means the gun stands a good chance of disappearing if in fact a crime was committed. After the ticket has been cleared up, return to the police department, receipt in hand, and request that the firearm be released. Point out applicable statutes and say that the weapon was carried lawfully, and as such the confiscation of said weapon was without probable cause. If they refuse, THEN you call the lawyer and get a writ. Trouble is, property isn't people; a writ of habeas corpus gives the police and DA 48 hours to charge or release you, but it doesn't require, if they do not charge you,that they return all seized property if they can show it to be evidence of the alleged crime. Just because they don't have enough to arrest you doesn't mean they can't keep what they have until they do. The only way to get the gun back in an expedited fashion is a court order, and a judge in signing one has to be shown that the alleged crime for which the gun is held as evidence is in fact invalid on its face. The person did not commit the offense if:
- The gun is legal to open carry in general (<=20 rounds current mag capacity, not a sawed-off, machine gun, destructive device, etc)
- The individual was of age (the definition of "person" at law generally implies adulthood; minors cannot carry)
- The individual was not prohibited from possessing a firearm under either State or Federal law.
- Theweapon was not "hidden from common observation"(I can find no Virginia law allowing CC in your carwithout permit like there is in Texas; if there is such a statute lemme know)
- The individual is not shooting that weapon from within the car in a reckless manner.
- The individual was not currently committing a crime of a class greater than a Class 3 misdemeanor (most commontraffic violations including expired tags)
So, a 20-year-old with no criminal or severe mental health history carrying the weapon on his hip is doing nothing illegal, permit or not. The fact that one officer thought he was brandishing the weapon means nothing if the other officer told him to remove the weapon from its holster, and the cruiser's dash recorder will prove that.
However, the officers may both say that looking through the window they could not see the weapon in the individual's hip, therefore it may or may not be "hidden from common observation". The dash cam isn't going to show that, and in the absence of case law to the contrary (something to the effect of "a weapon carried in a manner such that itis plainly visible from the frontif the individual were standing is presumed to be plainly visible if the individualis seated") he could be in some trouble.
And about large sums of money; $10,000 cash on hand or involved in an "ordinary" banking transaction (deposit, withdrawal, transfer involving a checking or savings account), by federal law, triggers a review. This is to prevent money laundering and "under-the-radar" transactions; the law was created at a time when once you were through security you were golden, so you could board a domestic connecting flight then switch planes to an international one without any further security review. So, the Feds put a $10,000 limit on cash on hand while travelling. Domestic or international, you are detained until the source and intended destination of the money is identified and verified.
celebrate) !!!!
