Legal Question in Constitutional Law in California
assault rifle law
a false police report led police to call residents out of home with guns drawn. caller said owner of home was holding woman against her will and there was drugs and guns. the house was empty homeowner was held in back of police car for 4 hours . homeowner wouldn't let them search without warrant. there was no arrest, no drugs and nobody held against there will. homeowner did tell police he had guns inside. he told police he could check them out. police went into homewiyhout homeowner present and confiscated legal registered hand guns and ammo also he had assault rifle he bought in1987 before assault gun act of 1989. no charges were filed and guns still at police station for one year. is this illegal? no they want to charge me 12072 d ca assault rifle law. i don't have the paper work on that gun. please help me. was this a illegal search and siezure?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: assault rifle law
The search sounds legal to me. Police don't need a warrant to enter and search a home when they reasonably believe there is an emergency. If they believed there might be someone held hostage inside, that was ample justification to go in and look for the hostage.
That report alone would not justify a search for guns or drugs; police searching for a person can't open drawers and search other small places into which a person could not fit. However, any guns or drugs that they happen upon while conducting a proper search for a person would be fair game.
It sounds like the officers obtained a warrant after their original search, allowing them to go back and look for more guns and drugs. If that is what happened, then that search was also proper.
Whether the seizure was proper is a different question. I don't know the answer offhand, and I would need more details about what was seized and why.
I agree with Mr. Stone that you need a lawyer immediately.
Good luck.
Re: assault rifle law
Violating the assault rifle law is a serious felony crime punishable by up to 7 years in state prison; and yes, they may have violated your rights with a search. You probably have waited too long to ask the court to give you your guns back. Your immediatre problem is, you need a lawyer to defend these serious criminal charges. Even if you were poor enough to qualify to be represented by the public defender, it's unlikely a public defender would raise the illegal search issue. Please call me at once to discuss.
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