Recovering Stolen Firearms

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Connecticut

Suspect burglarized a home in NY on July 17, 2012. 6 firearms were stolen: 4 semi-automatic NY compliant (pre-cuomo ban) rifles, 2 shotguns, multiple 30 round magazines, one 75 round drum magazine.

there were multiple witnesses. all weapons were reported stolen. pictures with detailed descriptions and serial numbers of all stolen firearms were given to police. witness statements were made.

on November 3, 2012, suspect was arrested in Connecticut, and has been incarcerated, bond set at $100,000. victim was notified personally by police on 1/24/13 (due to technical difficulties with victim's cell-phone) that suspect was found with victim's property in his car and has been incarcerated for over a month. there was also an arrest warrant out for suspect for aggravated harassment towards victim (death threats made after robbery). despite, detectives assigned to the case have stated to the victim that the suspect is denying allegations, and blaming victim for partial pre-meditated involvement.

here are the charges:

29-38 ILL POSS WEAPON IN MTR VEHICLE U Felony 1 11/3/2012
53-202c* ILL POSS ASSAULT WPN D Felony 1 11/3/2012
53-202c* ILL POSS ASSAULT WPN D Felony 1 11/3/2012
53-202c* ILL POSS ASSAULT WPN D Felony 1 11/3/2012
53a-211 POS SAWED OFF SHOTGUN/SILENCER D Felony 1 11/3/2012
53a-211 POS SAWED OFF SHOTGUN/SILENCER D Felony 1 11/3/2012
53a-211 POS SAWED OFF SHOTGUN/SILENCER D Felony 1 11/3/2012
53a-212 STEALING FIREARM D Felony 1 11/3/2012
53a-212 STEALING FIREARM D Felony 1 11/3/2012


my questions are:



with the possible exception of the sawed-off shotguns (which may fall under NFA law), what is the likelihood that the victim can recover their property, assuming remaining weapons were not modified to fall under NFA law?

will the victim have to travel in order to recover property?

will the victim have to testify in court? is it possible that the victim may not have to go to court due to overwhelming evidence? will victim have to submit to polygraph test if victim has to testify?


on top of all of this, it states that suspect has been on docket 4 times. *what does this mean?


it also states that suspect is "awaiting disposition" and his next court date is very soon. what does "awaiting disposition" mean?


finally, just exactly how serious are these offenses that the suspect is facing? especially being NFA items were found, and state lines were crossed.


thank you.

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Quoting jtom

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despite, detectives assigned to the case have stated to the victim that the suspect is denying allegations, and blaming victim for partial pre-meditated involvement.

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Tell us in plain English what you mean by "partial pre-meditated involvement" and tell us the actual allegations being made against the victim.

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Quoting jtom

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with the possible exception of the sawed-off shotguns (which may fall under NFA law), what is the likelihood that the victim can recover their property, assuming remaining weapons were not modified to fall under NFA law?

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Are you telling us that the victim reported the theft of illegal weapons and silencers, along with his legal arsenal? Or is he trying to "pick and choose" to get back his legal arsenal without having to admit to multiple state and federal crimes, and is afraid he'll be questioned by the police about his illegal items if he tries to recover the rest?

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Quoting jtom

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will the victim have to travel in order to recover property?

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Somebody will have to do so, and it won't be the police. If and when the police release the stolen items to the owner, he can discuss with them whether he can have a third party recover them from wherever they're stored.

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Quoting jtom

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will the victim have to testify in court?

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What do you mean by "have to"? It would be difficult for the police to subpoena the victim, given that the victim is in a different state, but if the victim is needed to support the case and chooses not to testify such that charges are dismissed, the victim may find that the police are happy to store his property until the statute of limitations expires (likely five years), lose interest in releasing it until they're presented with a court order compelling its return, or find a rationale under which they may destroy or otherwise dispose of the items (perhaps that's the sort of thing you were hinting at with "blaming victim for partial pre-meditated involvement").

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Quoting jtom

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is it possible that the victim may not have to go to court due to overwhelming evidence?

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Maybe.

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Quoting jtom

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will victim have to submit to polygraph test if victim has to testify?

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No.

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Quoting jtom

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on top of all of this, it states that suspect has been on docket 4 times. *what does this mean?

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One would infer that whatever you're looking at is indicating that the defendant's case has appeared on the court docket four times, for various hearings or proceedings.

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Quoting jtom

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it also states that suspect is "awaiting disposition" and his next court date is very soon. what does "awaiting disposition" mean?

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Awaiting: To wait for; To be in a state of abeyance.
Disposition: final arrangement; settlement.

Something is awaiting disposition; you're apparently looking at the calendar entries from the case, so you should be able to figure out what issues are pending - motions, sentencing, something else....

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Quoting jtom

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finally, just exactly how serious are these offenses that the suspect is facing?

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A Class D felony is punishable by 1 to five years, a fine of up to $ 5,000, or both. A "U" felony is "unclassified; the penalty for violating Ct. Statutes Sec. 29-38 appears to be incarceration for up to five years, a fine of up to $ 1,000, or both. Habitual sentencing would be a possibility if the person has a record.

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Quoting jtom

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especially being NFA items were found, and state lines were crossed.

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You've given no indication that the defendant is likely to face additional federal charges; it sometimes happens, but we can't tell you that it will or will not happen in this case.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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Tell us in plain English what you mean by "partial pre-meditated involvement" and tell us the actual allegations being made against the victim.

Are you telling us that the victim reported the theft of illegal weapons and silencers, along with his legal arsenal? Or is he trying to "pick and choose" to get back his legal arsenal without having to admit to multiple state and federal crimes, and is afraid he'll be questioned by the police about his illegal items if he tries to recover the rest?

Somebody will have to do so, and it won't be the police. If and when the police release the stolen items to the owner, he can discuss with them whether he can have a third party recover them from wherever they're stored.

What do you mean by "have to"? It would be difficult for the police to subpoena the victim, given that the victim is in a different state, but if the victim is needed to support the case and chooses not to testify such that charges are dismissed, the victim may find that the police are happy to store his property until the statute of limitations expires (likely five years), lose interest in releasing it until they're presented with a court order compelling its return, or find a rationale under which they may destroy or otherwise dispose of the items (perhaps that's the sort of thing you were hinting at with "blaming victim for partial pre-meditated involvement").

Maybe.

No.

One would infer that whatever you're looking at is indicating that the defendant's case has appeared on the court docket four times, for various hearings or proceedings.

Awaiting: To wait for; To be in a state of abeyance.
Disposition: final arrangement; settlement.

Something is awaiting disposition; you're apparently looking at the calendar entries from the case, so you should be able to figure out what issues are pending - motions, sentencing, something else....

A Class D felony is punishable by 1 to five years, a fine of up to $ 5,000, or both. A "U" felony is "unclassified; the penalty for violating Ct. Statutes Sec. 29-38 appears to be incarceration for up to five years, a fine of up to $ 1,000, or both. Habitual sentencing would be a possibility if the person has a record.

You've given no indication that the defendant is likely to face additional federal charges; it sometimes happens, but we can't tell you that it will or will not happen in this case.

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partial involvement = suspect stated to police that victim was at home during time of robbery, along with suspect's accomplice. there are punch-in times and multiple witnesses to confirm victim was at work at the time of robbery.

all weapons at the time of robbery meet NYS and federal criteria, and legally acquired by victim.
no NFA items, no illegal/previosly stolen weapons, no SBR, SBS, AOW, supressors, machine guns, handguns, Destructive Devices, etc. any illegal modifications may have been done by suspect or a 3rd party related to suspect.


i stated "have to" because victim is reluctant to travel due to the demands of life (work, school, family, etc) , unless absolutely necessary.


what i meant was, is it possible that the suspect would face possible federal charges due to 3 counts of possessing unregistered short-barrel-shotguns/silencers?


forgot to add, victim also feels that one of the "sawed off/silencer" charges is due to one of the stolen rifles having a aluminium cosmetic attatchment that resembles the shape of the silencer (fake silencer). though if the lab were to inspect with a scope, or cut the fake silencer in half, they would find that it is solid, with no internal baffles or expansion chambers, and drilled at one diameter all the way through (meeting ATF criteria for being a non-supressor). could one of these "sawed off" charges be dismissed due to this?

You will need to look further into the details to determine whether the phony silencer is the cause for one of the charges or not. But, do you really want to do the defense attorney's job for him?

Oh, and if you really want the guns back, it is very likely you will have to travel to CT to fill out whatever paperwork might be required. While I cannot speak to CT's laws on the matter, I know that in my state you would be required to complete paperwork to be submitted to our state's Attorney General and they would have to issue you a certificate of clearance before we could return them. Then, shipping is an issue ... shipping into NY might present some problems. You should probably contact the agency holding the weapons to find out what might need to be done, and how long they might hold the weapons after trial.

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Quoting jtom

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partial involvement = suspect stated to police that victim was at home during time of robbery, along with suspect's accomplice. there are punch-in times and multiple witnesses to confirm victim was at work at the time of robbery.

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Why would he make up that story, unless it's to argue that you gave him permission to take the guns, sold him the guns, or something along that line?

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Quoting jtom

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...any illegal modifications may have been done by suspect or a 3rd party related to suspect.

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Yet it appears that you're worried. Is the thief claiming nothing was changed or modified after the firearms were taken from your house?

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Quoting cdwjava

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You will need to look further into the details to determine whether the phony silencer is the cause for one of the charges or not. But, do you really want to do the defense attorney's job for him?

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What might a typical police agency's policy be, whether in terms of returning unmodified firearms or recommending charges against the owner, if it were determined during an investigation that some items among a stolen collection of firearms were unlawfully modified? Would it return everything except the modified firearms, require the victim to make a statement explaining and denying responsibility for the modifications, treat the entire collection as contraband based upon the presence of some illegally modified weapons.... ?

yes thats what hes saying.




no hes not claiming that.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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What might a typical police agency's policy be, whether in terms of returning unmodified firearms or recommending charges against the owner, if it were determined during an investigation that some items among a stolen collection of firearms were unlawfully modified? Would it return everything except the modified firearms, require the victim to make a statement explaining and denying responsibility for the modifications, treat the entire collection as contraband based upon the presence of some illegally modified weapons.... ?

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In CA we certainly could not return the unlawful weapons and would likely be investigating the owner for the offenses. However, the rub would be whether or not the modifications are unlawful in the owner's state where they were stolen. This would be the kind of thing we'd likely work through the AG's office as it is not your typical scenario. Lots of good questions and no easy answers, and I suspect that the OP will find the same head scratching in CT.

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Quoting jtom

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yes thats what hes saying [that I gave him permission to take the guns].

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So... if you don't dispute his argument, it may well be that he gets the guns back when the case is over.

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Quoting jtom

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no hes not claiming that [the guns were modified before he took them].

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Then what is he saying?

The lawful owner would also need to determine if the firearms have been made subject to forfeiture. If so, they would likely need to enter the forfeiture case as a claimant to get the property returned.