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How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:55 am
by dakota426
Hi Everyone,
My firearm was siezed by EPD as a result of a self defense discharge of my weapon. :( See the innaccurate news article under REAL LIFE ENCOUNTERS section "Man says he shot at four males who attacked him". I have been "cleared" by the city prosecutor :D and the detective informed me that my Springfield XD has been sent to the state :shock: for "ballistic testing" :?: and I will receive a call from EPD when they get it back. Has anyone else had any experience with this? How long does this take? Is there anyway to check the progress? I have others but I purchased my XD specifically for CC and my others are less than ideal, especially for CC.
Thanks

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 1:15 pm
by Mustang380gal
What does your lawyer say about it?

That's rhetorical. Posting on an internet forum may not be in your best interest, yet.

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 1:18 pm
by djthomas
What does your lawyer say? If your case has truly been disposed of in your favor then the court should order the prompt return of your property. On the other hand if the case is still active but the city prosecutor has only decided that he's not going to file charges at the moment then the case is still technically active.

Without knowing all the details the best I can say is to have your lawyer make a few phone calls. Editing to add that Mustang Gal is correct - you may not want to post the details on the forum especially if there's any doubt as to the status of the case.

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:08 pm
by jose45
I wouldn't expect it back any time soon.Anything sent to the state for "ballistic testing" sounds like one of those black hole situations.Your attorney would be in the best position to get answers and results.Good Luck.

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 6:30 pm
by Cruiser
Do you have a receipt for that gun from the police or court?

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:03 pm
by BobK
You can go to the court and get a writ of mandamus to force the immediate return of the firearm.

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:18 pm
by JediSkipdogg
BobK wrote:You can go to the court and get a writ of mandamus to force the immediate return of the firearm.
Problem is in a case like this I think the judge would go on the side of law enforcement. I'm assuming to the firearm was sent to the state crime lab. I don't know how their backlog is on balistic testing, but I know for DNA it's about 4 months. Computers, try about 6 months. Therefore all the police would say in court is it's still awaiting testing and they don't have it back yet. A few years ago my brother was arrest and his computer was taken. He pled out on the case and they finally returned his computer to him without analyzing it (they saw no need to at that point.) His court process went from the end of December to June.

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 8:07 am
by dakota426
Well, as I understand it, the detective told me that the city prosecutor said that "no charges will be filed" in my case as it was determined to be a genuine self defense situation in which the use of deadly force was deemed to be appropriate. He told me that whenever there has been a discharge of a firearm involved in a crime (by the perpetraitor or victim), it is department policy to send the firearm to the state for "balistic testing". I assume it's to determine whether or not it has been used in any other unsolved crimes OR to keep a ballistic record of a particular firearm. IDK. I have owned my XD since brand new and am sure it has never been used on anything other than paper n cardboard at the range. I am currently laid off so funds for an attorney aren't in the budget unless it's for defense of charges. I was hoping somebody might have some info as to how I can check on the progress of testing n such. I would like to get a copy of Sean m. Culleys' book The Handbook of Ohio Firearms Law but can't find it anyplace local. It seems that it's only available online. I would love to get a copy in my hands asap so I could start reading. Thanks to all who have replied so far.

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 9:04 am
by Shadow
Have you considered filing a theft report?

If they've no legal reason to sieze the gun and they do, its stolen.

Perhaps a question for your attorney?

Philip

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 10:16 pm
by Gaspode
Here's the thing. No matted what the prosecutor, judges, cops, detectives or random people on the street say, the entire case still gets submitted to a grand jury for consideration of evidence. The prosecutor will chime in there and say "No reason to take this to court, it was justified blah blah lawyer speak blah" and they'll end up finding that no laws were broken and no charges will be filed. It all takes time.

That's the way it was explained to me anyway.

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 10:56 pm
by charben
Gaspode wrote:Here's the thing. No matted what the prosecutor, judges, cops, detectives or random people on the street say, the entire case still gets submitted to a grand jury for consideration of evidence. The prosecutor will chime in there and say "No reason to take this to court, it was justified blah blah lawyer speak blah" and they'll end up finding that no laws were broken and no charges will be filed. It all takes time.

That's the way it was explained to me anyway.
I don't think that's accurate. If the prosecutor does not want to send it to the grand jury, it doesn't go. But, IANAL...

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:54 am
by Paul
I have sat on a grand jury and I agree with Chris on this one. Whether it goes to a grand jury or not is the prosecutors call. If it's all over the media and/or it's a political hot potato the prosecutor will have the grand jury look at it just to get the heat of their back. We looked at cases that there was no doubt that it was going to trial and we saw cases that were a waste of our time. Don't forget we vote for prosecutors and they will deflect as much as they can away from themselves.

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 9:28 am
by jburtonpdx
No funds... hmm, do you have some sort of formal document from the prosecutor saying no charges to be filed? Maybe consider a firm but polite letter demanding that all property be returned to you now. Include copies of the documentation from the prosecutor and also CC the prosecutor, the city manager or whatever equivalent you have in your town, and the Chief of the department along with the officer that was running the investigation. Maybe include some sort of verbiage to the effect of its not contraband and there are no charges or something like that...

Don't know that it would do any good, but it would at least keep you busy for a little bit and it might have an effect... Remember though, firm but polite.

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 11:58 pm
by Jamie B
I know a lawyer over on TFL that might be able to help you.....

Re: How long does it take to get your firearm back?

Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 6:47 am
by djthomas
The problem is that until the statute of limitations runs out the prosecutor (or his successor) has the right to re-file those charges at any time unless they were dismissed with prejudice. No court is going to agree to release evidence if there's a chance it could be needed later. An informal communication from the prosecutor saying he's not filing charges at this time still leaves the door open. The court is not going to order the release of anything until they're satisfied that all evidentiary value of the item has been extinguished. For that, they're going to rely on what the prosecutor is telling them (not what he's telling you).

If the lawyer Jamie recommended can't help you then perhaps consider the local chapter of the Legal Aid Society.