Posted on 10/22/2011 5:03:05 PM PDT by marktwain
I live in Uhrichsville. Within eight months’ time, my property was broken into three times.
After the second time, I had a security system installed.
At 2 a.m. on April 24, 2010, the alarm to the backyard barn went off. I armed myself and went to check it out. The barn door was wide open and a man was inside looking around with a flashlight. I yelled at him to come to me and he came at me with a tire iron in hand. He was less than 10 feet away when I fired a warning shot. He turned and ran; I fired more shots trying to get him to stop. At no time was I trying to hit him.
The police came, took the tire iron that he dropped and also took my gun. It’s been almost two years, and I still cannot get my gun back.
No charges were ever filed. I saw a lawyer and was told it would cost me $400 to file papers with the court for return of the gun.
The gun was registered and I have a permit to carry. I’m 68, never been in trouble. I fired in self-defense. Why are they keeping my gun?
Recently in New Philadelphia, a man fired three shots at a truck in town. The police took his gun and returned it the same day with a warning. What is going on in Uhrichsville?
Can someone please help me get my gun back?
Warning shot?
Someone in the police department liked your gun. It happens all the time.
You are right, it is theft tho I am not sure it is legal. At one time cops kept them just to steal the property. I think now it is more of an anti-gun attitude.
One of my college friends was the son of a small town Florida police chief. He had amassed a large collection of guns.
The cops have the power to do it so they do it whether it is legal or not.
Filthy pigs are filthy pigs, and filthy pigs will always act like filthy pigs. God I hate the pigs!
I’m not an attorney, but I wonder why the guy couldn’t just file his own Small Claims Court action against the PD?
No attorney fees. It would get the matter in front of a judge. Sounds like he would most certainly win.
Probably should have stopped after the first "warning shot". Be hard to justify discharging your weapon after he fled. Where did the bullets from the warning shots go? More to this I'll bet.
Well, they haven’t charged the guy, so case closed. You can’t take a guys private property because you think he might have done something wrong 2 years ago. Unless, of course, you are (a) the pigs, or (b) in a union.
It makes no difference, if he wasn't charged they can't keep the gun.
Go to the clerk’s office and ask for a small claims complaint. You might be able to get a copy on-line by searching for your county web-site, click on `Forms.’
Write on the complaint that the action/claim is for `replevin’ (return of wrongfully withheld property) and, in the space for your `statement of the claim’, explain what happened.
Name the police chief (or sheriff) as defendant, along with the prosecutor. Make sure to ask for an award of your filing fee. Or see a lawyer. He may advise you to amend your claim to request treble damages and his fees.
This is what I would do in my state. Your state may be different. If you go pro se (repping yourself) be nice to the deputy clerk when asking questions and they usually reciprocate/may help you fill out the claim. (But make sure you write in the defendants’ names last.)
Never fire a warning shot. If its worth a warning shot its worth a shot to center mass.
I bet he never sees the gun again.
” At no time was I trying to hit him.”
Your first mistake......firing a weapon is the application of deadly force. If you didn’t mean to hit him, you shouln’t have fired in the first place.
Warning shots are an interesting theory. See, those bullets end up somewhere, and potentially in an innocent victim.
I was a Customs Inspector. I attended the academy and carried a gun in the line of duty. We were taught to “shoot to stop” the threat. And we qualified at the range every quarter. We shot at targets with a human silouette. Two rounds to the center of mass, and one to the head. Yup. That would stop them!
Friend; If you legally own a firearm and your life is in jeopardy...It’s called double tap. Never fire a warning shot because Its his word again yours. Good luck
I’ve often wondered about that “no warning shot” thing. I freely admit I might be wrong, but it sounds like macho BS to me. For example, you’re trapped in an alley, and a guy is slowly advancing on you with a knife and a wild look in his eyes. He is chanting that he’s gonna kill you. He’s 60 feet away. You’ve got a primary and a back-up gun on you. You know that even if he’s got it comin’ that killing a guy will give you nightmares forever. Why NOT fire a warning shot?
If the crook was advancing on him with a deadly weapon then he probably would have been justified in shooting him.
The fact is tho that he survived the encounter with no harm to him or anyone else. I don’t think anyone needs to criticize him.
Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound. -Anon.
Corollary: A man found dead in his backyard, beaten to death with a tire iron, is somehow morally superior to a man explaining to police how he scared off the tire iron armed attacker with a gun he wasn’t willing to use to shoot him.
I wonder about the claim ‘my gun was registered.’ Registered with whom? Why?
You never fire a warning shot because the bullet may end up hitting an innocent person and then you have some real legal problems.
Never, ever, fire a warning shot.
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