Just wondering. . .
I live in Jacksonville, FLorida.  Recently, a 70 year old man shot an intruder on his back porch with a .38 revolver.  The intruder turned out to be a friend of his.  The friend will live.  The old man probably will not be prosecuted since in Florida we have the "Castle Doctrine" which protects homeowners and business owners using a firearm to protect their homes and businesses.  However, the JSO (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office) perfomed a search of his home and confiscated six other unnamed firearms.  
My question is, are these firearms returned to this man after the case is closed?  Why would the JSO need to confiscate any firearms other than the one specifically used in the shooting?  

because the confiscating athorities need to make sure that they have the gun that really shot the guy?, if i shot someone while they were breaking in, then gave the cops a less valued gun from my collection to be sure my favorite was remaining in my house it would be a problem if the leo's tried to prosecute me when they found i killed the guy across the street and dragged him into the house.

we go to court, and the killing weapon did not match the rounds found in the stiff, case dismissed, lack of evidence, they wanna make sure they got the right gun

Logical question.  How can the police be sure that they have found all of the guns, if they don't get a match with the bullet in the perp?

What if there's no bullet in the perp, but was a through and through that landed 2 blocks away in Mrs. Gaine's tomato patch?

Yeh but, yeh but, yeh but...

What if, what if, what if...

I'm just wondering how long Natez will play along. [:)] Very interesting. I never gave much thought to the process.

Thanks Natez,

Bob

They will probably return them all after the sheriff and the state atty clear him.. If not, after a period specified by statute  (45 or 90 days, IIRC) he can sue to get them back. It's not a complex action, and almost never necessary.

is there a law that would prevent same guy from buying another gun while his other guns were seized and waiting for return?

after all he wasn't convicted of a felony and therefore shouldn't be in the doj computer as restricted from owning...

just asking.

He can buy whatever he wants as long as he  doesn't have a pending indictment or information.

I'd venture that this will vary greatly depending on where an incident occurs and the political climate of the area.

Here in MA, a permit is required to possess any firearms/ammo/components and the first step is to confiscate the permit and all the firearms/ammo/components. Many PDs here are less then stellar at returning the permits (since it is discretionary, many chiefs will refuse to re-issue due to "suitability" and the courts will usually support them) and/or firearms/ammo/components.

I know an attorney in Boston who has sued Boston PD numerous times for clients to get return of their firearms, etc. In most cases even when she gets a judgment for return, the Boston PD refuses to comply or states that the items were "lost"! Doesn't happen everywhere or every time, but much too often to believe that it's "accidental".

The guys an idiot - how do you shoot your own friend?

Seems there ought to be a firearm rule like know your target and what lies beyond ...

So what happens if a guy shoots and kills an intruder who happens to have lots of very dangerous friends... i.e. gang ties?  

Now the homeowner is defenseless against further intrusions/assaults because the LEO's seized all his firearms.  Sounds like a very bad situation for the homeowner.  

If it ever happened to me, I would find some way to stay armed while the police dept. had my guns.  I would be much more alert and watchful AFTER having to shoot someone breaking into my house.

Exactly!

That's just what I was thinking. They completely disarm you at a time when you'll probably need them the most!

In light of this, it would be prudent if everyone would make concession for have a few long/handguns stored off-property where they can be easily retrieved. Maybe store at a friends house, etc. When everything is confiscated, you can still defend yourself.

So, since the shooting took place outside the home on the porch, what business do the cops have searching his house? Leave the old man alone!