San Jose PD seizes legal AW after burglary & won't give receipt

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Creeping Incrementalism

Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2005
Messages
984
Location
S.F. Bay Area
I will summarize something that was posted on CalGuns.net:

After a burglary, the owner of a registered CAR-15 "Assault Weapon" called the San Jose PD. The CAR-15 was not touched. When they asked if he had any firearms, and he showed them the rifle, the police became more interested in it than in the burglary, and claimed its serial number wasn't registered when they called it in. The poster knows it is listed because it has been checked by law enforcement before. The police then seized the rifle and all of his normal-capacity mags, and refused to give a receipt, claiming it would be on the case report.

The thread is located at http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=39327. Read it while it's hot, as anyone who gets their rifles seized by police on CalGuns.net usually asks the mod to delete the thread after they hire a lawyer.
 
Seizure

I'm not sure what to think. I do recall that hardcore anti-gunner Joseph McNamara was once Chief of the SJPD.
 
hmm. I don't know about the laws over there. But back home in Venezuela, some kind of receipt or document should be given to you by the cops in case of anything (eg theft, accidental discharge, used to commit a crime etc).

About 3 years or more ago, I was arrested (the reason does not matter but that I had nothing to do with anything, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time). Anyhow, at the station after they have taken all the info etc they wanted to stick me in for the weekend. I practically got into an argument with the cops for a receipt for my gun stating it would be under their care from what date to what time etc. By law they are required to provide you with such a document. They eventually game me one. After spending almost a gruesome day and something behind bars (damn third world country jails) guess what.... my gun "disappeared" from their storage. luckly, I was smart enough to get that receipt to protect myself should something "happen". I walked away vexed, starving, and without my pistol. But in a positive note, I walked out without any kind of soreness in my lower body....
 
Lol, he got burglarized twice in the same evening.

Sounds like he's going to be OK, but the time and money to get it straightened out will probably be a PITA.
 
sicario, sounds like my state is becoming more like your country every day.

FTF said:
Lol, he got burglarized twice in the same evening. Sounds like he's going to be OK, but the time and money to get it straightened out will probably be a PITA.
Click to expand...

While in some other states it would be cheaper to just write it off, no amount of money can replace what he has lost in California, since the "Assault Weapon" law went into effect in 2000, so I hope he gets it back.

On CalGuns.net, people are wondering if, in California, usually it would be better not to report even major crimes to the police.
 
If I ever have to call the cops, I hide all my guns in the closet or somewhere. Many times cops will take advantage of you when it comes to stuff like this. I dont want them flipping out and confiscating all my stuff because they think something could possibly be illegal.
 
Throw every firearms related item into the safe and refuse to open it without a warrant. Or put it somewhere not accessable by the LEs.

Better yet, do the investigation outside your house. Sucks your buddy got robbed twice. I'd call the LE's captain and follow up with the mayor, or civilian review board if need be. Make that LE's life a living hell. Make him rethink this "gun confiscation" mentality. Your buddy did no wrong and shouldn't be treated this way. Especially when he had proof it was legal.
 
Yes, safes are an awesome defense against claims of "plain view." Unless they get a plasma cutter or a warrant for the safe (kind of rusky burning through a metal box full of gunpowder), they arent going to be able to view the contents. Whereas a gun in a closet can easily be found on a normal police safe. I'm not saying that any of us have anything to hide, but the less questions asked the better.
 
IF YOU PERMIT LEOs INSIDE, YOU CAN NOT FORCE THEM TO LEAVE!

IF YOU PERMIT LEOs INSIDE, YOU CAN NOT FORCE THEM TO LEAVE! LET THEM STAND IN THE RAIN. THEY WANT INSIDE, GET A WARRANT. My house, my CASTLE!

Sorry for the all-caps. Some say that means "screaming". Okay, so I screamed it. It's important enough to scream.

Doc2005
 
Why do I keep reading the same story?

From all over the nation, here in the High Road, I read the same story after story of heavyhanded or illegal police actions. What the heck is going on?
 
From all over the nation, here in the High Road, I read the same story after story of heavyhanded or illegal police actions. What the heck is going on?
Click to expand...
Lots of people (including those here on THR.Org (and myself at times)) tend to focus on the negative reports and get all worked up about them. Reading about Officer Bob rescuing a kitten from a french drain does not get the blood up nearly as much as reading about Officer Jim seizing a legally owned weapon under the color of the law.

The 'Net also contributes to this. In years past, reports of true jack booted thuggery would take days or weeks to spread through the populace via newsprint, letters and mainstream media. Now its takes but seconds for Mr. Loon-on-the-edge to type up his rant and have it posted where thousands can read it and get angry, copying same post to other forums and blogs.

Lastly, the means to record real and perceived JBT type behavior can now be purchased for a few dollars at Wal-Mart. More eyes will see real & perceived JBT, which can then be feed into the situation described above.

But thats just my take on this phenomena.
 
From all over the nation, here in the High Road, I read the same story after story of heavyhanded or illegal police actions. What the heck is going on?
Click to expand...

Well, yeah, but we're not a police state: the guy whose rifle was stolen by the police wasn't killed, was he?
 
Why is the answer always a lawsuit? Throwing good money after bad? Where's the personal accountibility? The worst that could possibly happen to this perp is to make the taxpayers cover for him.
 
Why is the answer always a lawsuit? Throwing good money after bad? Where's the personal accountibility? The worst that could possibly happen to this perp is to make the taxpayers cover for him.
Click to expand...

Lawsuits dont always include money. In this case, the victim would be suing for the return of property that is rightfully his, and should not have been taken to begin with. The court would issue an order or injunction forcing the PD to return his rifle.
 
Why is the answer always a lawsuit? Throwing good money after bad? Where's the personal accountibility? The worst that could possibly happen to this perp is to make the taxpayers cover for him.
Click to expand...

The only way to get past the 'blue line' is through the voters... and they respond well to attacks on their pocketbooks.... directly or indirectly. God knows the cops in charge aren't going to do anything but give the perps in blue a short paid vacation... unless motivated by negative public opinion to do otherwise.

Maybe a strongly worded letter would have a better effect?
 
IF YOU PERMIT LEOs INSIDE, YOU CAN NOT FORCE THEM TO LEAVE!
Click to expand...

Can you report the burglary without letting them in? I imagine that if it is put in the context of saving them time, then you probably could. I suppose you could file the report at the station instead of you house. But I like to hear other opinions on this.

When my car was broken into years back, the cop did not want to make a police report, until I insisted.
 
IF YOU PERMIT LEOs INSIDE, YOU CAN NOT FORCE THEM TO LEAVE!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IF YOU PERMIT LEOs INSIDE, YOU CAN NOT FORCE THEM TO LEAVE! LET THEM STAND IN THE RAIN. THEY WANT INSIDE, GET A WARRANT. My house, my CASTLE!
Click to expand...

Wrong. If police ask for consent to enter your house, and you permit them, they can come in without a warrant. You can at any time withdraw consent, and if they then have to get a warrant to search any further.
 
Last edited:
greggry is correct, consent for anything can be revoked at any time. If you consent to speak to the cops for what ever reason, you can decide to stop at any time. If they ask to search your car and you consent, you can also specify what you will allow them to search (ie the passenger compt but not the trunk etc) same thing with your house. You can tell them the ground floor is OK, but upstairs or the basement is off limits. Consent is an ongoing state... when ever you decide to stop and you say so, then thats it, game over, the cops have to leave. At that point if they wanted to continue searching they would need a warrent to do so.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
More legal AR (OLL) seizures in California
Replies
5
Views
1K
Creeping Incrementalism
C
D
  • Locked
Widow is denied spouse's weapons ATF seized guns after raid in 2001
Replies
7
Views
670
Navy joe
N
M
  • Locked
Seized guns resold by police
Replies
2
Views
584
Aguila Blanca
A
C
  • Locked
California: "Raids aim to curtail illegal gun ownership"
2
Replies
29
Views
3K
Scott Evans
S
M
  • Locked
Thought Crimes and the British Gestapo
Replies
23
Views
831
agricola
A
Back
Top