Legal help needed

[Sniper68]

Hello Everyone,

I was referred to this forum by a friend, he said that I would get good information from the members here.

Long story short:

I was living in an apartment and I was keeping my rifle with me as I would go to the range often.

There is nothing stating that I was not allowed to keep a legally owned firearm in the apartment.

I got a couple of noise violations from the apartment complex on a weekend due to my birthday party (friends were also in from california keeping us all up late)

I decided to lay low after this, and I went to visit family in Maryland that I hadn't seen in a while.

While I was gone I guess an alarm faulted in the apartment (so they claim) and they could not reach me on my cellphone, so they decided to go in.

My rifle was under my bed, unloaded, wrapped in a towel. Somehow someone saw this and the police were called.

They confiscated my weapon because they claimed it was illegally modified (it was not) and will not give it back in my multiple attempts to contact the police department.

I feel as though my privacy, civil rights and property have been violated.

The officer that took my rifle I spoke to once on the phone the day after the event and he was extremely rude and said "its gonna take you more than a dollar and proof of ownership to get your gun back"

TLDR

any advice is appreciated, thank you gentleman

[jb44336]

My advice would be to get a lawyer. It seems to me that this doesn't sound right (or legal), but I do not have a law degree. In my opinion, if they went in to your apartment and seized a firearm that was out of plain sight and you are legally permitted to own it, that is an illegal search and seizure, they might put up a fight about entering your apartment due to the alarm though. I would call the police department back, ask for this officer's name and badge number, then have a legal consultation.

Hope this helps!

[MiniDevil]

Hello Everyone,

I was referred to this forum by a friend, he said that I would get good information from the members here.

Long story short:

I was living in an apartment and I was keeping my rifle with me as I would go to the range often.

There is nothing stating that I was not allowed to keep a legally owned firearm in the apartment.

I got a couple of noise violations from the apartment complex on a weekend due to my birthday party (friends were also in from california keeping us all up late)

I decided to lay low after this, and I went to visit family in Maryland that I hadn't seen in a while.

While I was gone I guess an alarm faulted in the apartment (so they claim) and they could not reach me on my cellphone, so they decided to go in.

My rifle was under my bed, unloaded, wrapped in a towel. Somehow someone saw this and the police were called.

They confiscated my weapon because they claimed it was illegally modified (it was not) and will not give it back in my multiple attempts to contact the police department.

I feel as though my privacy, civil rights and property have been violated.

The officer that took my rifle I spoke to once on the phone the day after the event and he was extremely rude and said "its gonna take you more than a dollar and proof of ownership to get your gun back"

TLDR

any advice is appreciated, thank you gentleman

Do you have a copy of the police report that notes that your firearm was taken as evidence/confiscated? It should have the firearm model, serial number, and the specific reason it was taken.

[bogey1]

Illegally modified?

[Sniper68]

Do you have a copy of the police report that notes that your firearm was taken as evidence/confiscated? It should have the firearm model, serial number, and the specific reason it was taken.

No they did not include it in the police report, and I was given no document or receipt of the single piece of property seized.

[Lendog]

why where they lookin under the bed in the first place? sounds like the cops were on a fishing trip

[MiniDevil]

No they did not include it in the police report, and I was given no document or receipt of the single piece of property seized.

There's a problem then. Something was taken, but there is absolutely no paperwork on it at all? No clue what to do now. Try to get something of them admitting they took it, and file a lawsuit? Make them produce it as evidence?

[CartBone69]

No they did not include it in the police report, and I was given no document or receipt of the single piece of property seized.

Did they take more then just the gun?

[Sniper68]

Did they take more then just the gun?

No, I worded that improperly. I meant to say it was the literally the only thing taken... as far as I can tell. Although I never found that copy of COD MW3 lol

I could tell they ransacked my entire apartment by the time I got back.

[MiniDevil]

No, I worded that improperly. I meant to say it was the literally the only thing taken... as far as I can tell. Although I never found that copy of COD MW3 lol

I could tell they ransacked my entire apartment by the time I got back.

Just doesn't make sense. If it was an illegally modified firearm, you could be facing legal charges, but instead it sounds like they are trying to sweep it under the rug. Did you get word from the police themselves that they took it? There is no way that the roommate or whoever else was there might be trying to cover up a theft?