They seize your gun as evidence...do you ever get it back?

My house was burglarized and, fortunately, the police caught the guy in my house. He had stuck my nightstand handgun in a pillowcase in preparation of taking it with him. The gun was important because it increased the level of burglary and the guy was facing 20 yrs because of previous crimes.

The police simply photographed it in the bag and gave me back the gun. But, and this is important, the gun was not actually used in a crime. If its used in a murder and the person gets the death penalty, you'll probably never get the gun back.

So, bottom line, it just depends.
 
I had a .22LR revolver stolen from my home by a relative. I reported it the same day it was stolen. About a month later I got a call from the county sheriff's department telling me my handgun was found, but was used in a robbery of a convenience store in Rockford IL about 70 miles away. I asked if anyone got hurt, and the person on the phone told me that my gun was fired, but wouldn't go into any further details. I would get it back after the court date, as it was being held as evidence. About six months later I got a call from the Rockford PD and was told to come and pick up my handgun. So it's possible to get back your property, even a firearm.

Side note, when I picked up the handgun, I was told to case it, walk straight to my car, place handgun in trunk, and get out of Rockford. A Rockford PD squad car followed me out of town. :o
 
A friend told me that he took a gun off a guy he arrested 15 years ago. Everything was long since adjudicated and since the guy had no felonies or domestic violence cases they gave it back to him. He said he was a stupid kid then who had since grown up.
 
I know of one department that holds onto some of the guns they seize. They occassionally take them shooting on Mondays at the state range(LEO only on Mondays). Supposedly some nice NFA stuff has piled up over the last hundred years.

Seems most people who get it back wish they'd been cut a check.
 
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