Washington DoJ/DEA have my stolen rifle, any one have any experience dealing with federal courts and stolen guns?

[Berlinettaa]

TL;DR: I received a letter letting me know that my stolen rifle was seized, it was stolen months ago and I reported it, will I ever see it again?

I had a built match AR stolen from the hotel we were staying at for a CMP Match in Kennewick last March. I reported the weapon stolen to the KPD, and gave them all the information I had on the rifle. I built it from a lower I purchased years ago in Washington state, and have paperwork/receipts for every single part on or in the rifle. Yesterday I received a notice of seizure from the Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Agency stating that the rifle with scope and magazine was seized in a DEA enforcement action March 30th in Pasco. They attached the instructions to file a petition/claim online stating I was the owner for getting the rifle back or compensation for the goods. I filled it out and attached everything from my pictures of the rifle (both sides including serial #) to receipts for everything from the custom barrel and engraved ejection port to the scope. I also attached the KPD police report number although I never received a copy of the report and that department charges to get a certified copy. Does any of our illustrious membership have any experience dealing with guns seized as evidence especially in federal court? It seems the state rules do not apply to federal level seizures.

Of interesting note, they had to have ran a tracer on the lower receiver through the ATF instead of getting information from the police report I filed as the letter went to my parent's address where I kept my permanent address when I was on active duty and purchased the lower. The value listed for the items was funny as well, the scope they listed at $194, the rifle at $300, and the magazine at $1; if I could find a rifle with optic like that for $495 with a magazine what a heck of a deal that would be. Thanks for any and all input and listening to me whine, have a great day.

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[PORSCHE928S4]

I hope you get your stuff back and in good shape .

 

[The Heretic]

The values they listed were just them being lazy. Some clerk or somebody just filling out a form and not bothering to make it accurate.

 

[titsonritz]

I know several people have had stolen guns returned to them. I doubt they will trip over themselves getting it back to you but you'll get it back eventually, if we don't all die in a nuclear holocaust.

 

[Nosferatu]

Sounds like another Killdozer event is in our future.

 

[Ducati_Meister]

It's been over 3 years since the WA state patrol recovered my stolen pistol after I reported it stolen when my car got broken into. The last time I contacted the detective assigned to the case, he told me it got tied to several other investigations, so that basically told me I'm probably not going to see it for a very long time, if ever. I've pretty much written it off at this point.

I don't mean to sound so pessimistic, but it sounds like there's going to be fair amount of time waiting to get anything back. I feel your frustration and it burns me seeing good people getting their stuff taken and it becomes a royal PITA to get your property back.

 

[gmerkt]

I never received a copy of the report and that department charges to get a certified copy.

It's wise to get ahold of the report, even if you have to pay a nominal fee to get it. You'd have to get it for any insurance claim. Having it in hand might be a plus for your petition to the DEA.

Which brings up another, related subject. Insurance. Something that doesn't cost all that much and can come in real handy for the unexpected. With insurance, all you need to get paid is a police report. The insurance companies don't know what happens after that, they are out of the loop as to dispostion of the weapon once the claim is paid off. So if by some miracle one of your stolen guns does turn up in the hands of the law, the length of time it takes to get it back isn't an issue. You've already been made whole. And if you do eventually get it back, it's up to your conscience as to whether the insurance company gets their money back.

 

[Yarome]

He thinks he's going to get his rifle back from that DEA? That's soooo cute!

As suggested, if you haven't already done so when it was first stolen, file an insuarance claim. Failing that, you might try submitting an itemized parts list at current replacement costs to the DEA and demand for reimbursment or return at their expense. The clincher is if it is involved in an ongoing case or not. If it isn't then there is no reason they can not release it back to you, but if it is... it could be years, if ever.

Considering how one of my firearms came back to me from the pokey... I would push for reimbursement. They're never quite the same after they've done time.