Traffic stop: My $1500 .45 confiscated. Court coming up. Need advice/help/attorney

[TresMon]

Greetings,

Last week I was part of a traffic stop. It was a ridiculous stop by far- the most so over the course of my 20 years of driving.

The cop was belligerent and out of line from the first word. I Immediately told him him I had a ($$$$) .45 in the back of the vehicle he confiscated it and searched my vehicle after I had DENIED him consent to search my vehicle. He harassed a female co-worker I had with me (a church girl & former missionary) Threatened her that I was going to jail and "figure out how your getting home" she lives over an hour away, made threats to me with jail etc. I t was all just a bunch of chest thumping angry power show.

I fear I may loose my only big bore pistol which I have competed with for years. With the economic and my own personal financial downturn I will not be able to replace it for years to come if I loose it. I have no arrest nor criminal record at all. I'm looking for advice and legal representation on this matter which I can afford.

Anybody that has helpful advice or may be willing to take the case please call me (preferred) or e-mail me though I'm rarely online these days.

Thanks,

Tres MonCeret

865.659.7375

nativemant@yahoo.com

[BrasilNuts]

Sounds to me like you need to get a lawyer.

Edit: Where did this take place?

[Kenstaroni]

Was this stop conducted by KPD? Just curious. I'd contact a lawyer a.s.a.p. You're unlikely to get legal help, nor would I take it from members, however there is a lawfirm that is a sponsor called Cain Law. You might want to contact them as I believe they specialize in issues like yours.

[Mike.357]

you do not tell us much about why there was a stop or what the outcome of the stop was. Were you cited for something?

What reason the the LEO give for confiscating your firearm? Was it loaded, in close proximity to ammunition etc...

Do you have a HCP?

At any rate you need a lawyer most likely. It will probably take a court order to have the gun released to you. You may well be able to do that pro se but good luck figuring out how.

I would be on the phone and prepared to pay the best lawyer in town to get it back. Isaacs can do it, he got my nephews gun back for me but it did not come cheap overall.

But your post is really lacking in details that probably make a difference.

I forgot to add, call a lawyer. Most will give you a free consultation and tell you up front the costs of what you want done.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Mike.357

[Guest bkelm18]

Step 1: Call a lawyer.

Step 2: Repeat step one.

No offense, but it's pretty silly to post a serious legal issue like this and ask for help on a forum. Turns out, there are people that specialize in these types of situations. They're called lawyers. And yes, your description is lacking some key details.

[molonlabetn]

Sounds like a bad situation... Getting a lawyer is the best advice. Can't really speculate on the outcome. Depends on the reason you were stopped, etc...

I hope you didn't just volunteer the information about possessing a firearm if it was unrelated to the stop. That seems to cause more trouble than it could ever solve.

[TresMon]

1. stopped for speeding

2.weapon was loaded

3.location was knox city

4. expired HCP

[Mike.357]

1. stopped for speeding

2.weapon was loaded

3.location was knox city

4. expired HCP

there lies the problem. Get a real good lawyer. Were you charged with going armed?

and if so what level of misdemeanor did they charge you with?

Even though it sounds like you really are guilty a good lawyer may be able to get the charges dropped. Just costs money.

[Guest bkelm18]

An expired HCP pretty much equals having no HCP. So if your gun was loaded, yeah you're up the creek as they say. Best of luck. Get a good lawyer.

[gregintenn]

Aren't cops great?

[BrasilNuts]

Yup sounds like it's time to bend over.

[kb4ns]

you need to get a lawyer.

I'd contact a lawyer a.s.a.p.

call a lawyer.

Call a lawyer.

Getting a lawyer is the best advice.

Get a good lawyer.

Hang on... I'm catching onto something here...

Oh, and in case you weren't sure, get yourself an attorney.

[9teeneleven]

Thing is, a good lawyer is going to cost 15x the price of that pistol. I'd suggest not carrying a loaded gun without a permit and chalk it up to a $1500 lesson and hope you don't end up with a intent to go armed citation to with it.

[Erik88]

Aren't cops great?

these comments aren't necessary and don't help add anything beneficial to the thread.

To the OP, what happened was unfortunate however you should have known better than to let your permit expire. I wish you the best of luck.

[Guest Boogieman]

1. stopped for speeding

2.weapon was loaded

3.location was knox city

4. expired HCP

Key here is #4. Combining #'s 1,2,4 in #3 allows #3 to put their #1 where your #2 exits and go to town. Lawyer's your best bet but I wouldnt count on them being able to do much since your HCP was expired and you were in possession of a loaded firearm. I'd leave it be if they didnt charge you with anything on the spot.

[Smith]

aside from getting a lawyer, the lesson learned is

1. Don't speed

2. Don't let your HCP expire

3. If it does expire or you don't have one, keep the dang thing unloaded while in transport.

4. don't volunteer any unnecessary information.

Could he have been more reasonable? Yep. Could he have thrown the book at you and took you straight to jail? Yep.

[Oh Shoot]

1. stopped for speeding

2.weapon was loaded

3.location was knox city

4. expired HCP

Question remains: were you charged with illegal possession ("going armed") ?

I didn't think that your property could be confiscated if you're not charged with a crime related to said property?

But yes, of course, a lawyer will be necessary to answer a charge if there is one, or to recover gun whether there is a charge or not.

- OS

[MCSCOTT]

As mentioned since the HCP is expired then it will be treated the same as having no permit at all for the loaded handgun. I'm assuming since the thread topic mentions that court is coming up, that there are pending charges of some sort. It will be up to the court as to whether or not you get it back, have to pay a fine to get it back, or whatever the charges involve, but either way I would definately say you want to go into it with a lawyer representing you.

Since I wasn't there I will ignore the comments about the attitude of the officer, because in just about every story where someone is breaking the law they complain about the attitude of the officers. Don't mean to come off as putting the OP in the same category as other criminals, but you were in possession of a loaded handgun without an up to date permit, and the officer was only doing his job by confiscating it.

[Mike.357]

Thing is, a good lawyer is going to cost 15x the price of that pistol. I'd suggest not carrying a loaded gun without a permit and chalk it up to a $1500 lesson and hope you don't end up with a intent to go armed citation to with it.

a good attorney is not going to cost that much, good Lord the guy did not kill somebody. maybe the price of the pistol or way less depending on what he was charged with.

I was charged with a class A misdemeanor version of going armed, got the gun back, charges dropped, record expunged and it cost no where near 22,500 dollars, maybe 10% of that. From what you have posted I think at best you may have been charged with a Class C version of going armed.

Don't go trying to scare the guy.

and to add, I see no reason why you should not be able to get your gun back if the charge is dropped. And as long as you have not been in criminal trouble before there is no reason that the charges being dropped can't happen.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Mike.357

[I_Like_Pie]

Can't add anything else not covered. Yep - you are right. It looks like you made a $1500 mistake. Hate to hear it

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

I too hate to hear about this and hope you are able to resolve the issue and get your piece back. But if you do keep that joker unloaded until you get your HCP back. I know doing so is a PITA and a bit counter productive to having one in the first place but it sure would beat what ya got going now.

And Gracious man SLOW DOWN, you knew you were expired and had a loaded gun yet you still chose to speed?...I simply dont understand.

I do wish you the best though.

[guyandarifle]

A couple things:

I'm not a lawyer nor play one on TV but I'm not sure you have much say in him confiscating a pistol, permission to search or otherwise, once you've admitted to having a weapon AND it's been determined you have an expired permit.

Is there car video of the stop? I would imagine if the weapon was in fact in the BACK of your vehicle, out of reach, it might help. Was the weapon cased or, better still, locked up? How long ago did the permit expire? If very recently it would certainly look better than, say, two years ago. Also, if there is video, if you in fact come off as looking like a good guy caught on a less-than-high-IQ day (God knows I've had them) and the cop was doing his best Gestapo imitation it might at least "look" better for you. Don't take this the wrong way but none of us know you from Adam and for all we know you were an arrogant jerk about the whole thing. Not saying you were...just saying.

In the end the only recourse is what you've been told. Get a lawyer. Preferably one that actually has some idea about the whole gun thing. I've met some lawyers that you'd swear couldn't tell you which end of a gun was the muzzle.

[mikegideon]

Hang on... I'm catching onto something here...

Oh, and in case you weren't sure, get yourself an attorney.

What he said

[Links2k]

Aren't cops great?

I hate crooked cops, but this guy was driving around with a loaded gun and no permit. The cop did nothing wrong.

[gregintenn]

The cop was belligerent and out of line from the first word.

He harassed a female co-worker I had with me (a church girl & former missionary) Threatened her that I was going to jail and "figure out how your getting home" she lives over an hour away, made threats to me with jail etc.

He "did nothing wrong?" :shake:I know we're not allowed to make any disparaging comments on this board regarding the almightly LEO, but how much of this crap are you willing to give them a pass on?