(A) Firearms will be returned to the owner as provided by the Arizona Revised Statutes and this chapter, except as follows:
(1) When the firearm is illegal, as provided by federal or state law;
(2) When the return of the firearm is prohibited or forfeited by federal or state law, or court order;
(3) When the owner has known criminal charges pending which involve a felony, domestic violence, or misconduct involving firearms in any jurisdiction:
(4) When the firearm must be retained for evidentiary purposes, regardless of the nature of the proceeding;
(5) When the owner is a prohibited possessor pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-3101;
(6) When release of the firearm to the owner is otherwise precluded by this chapter, or state or federal law; or
(7) When Department questions the appropriateness of the return. In such cases, the Department shall file a petition with the City Municipal Court as provided in § 93.04 no later than five days after the denial of the request for release.
(B) Firearms will be returned to the prevailing claimant only after first being dismantled by the Department in a manner which will not preclude reassembly. If ammunition is to be returned, the Department reserves the option of returning the ammunition on a day different from which the firearm is returned.
(C) When a firearm is seized by the Department pursuant to an investigation of a felony, domestic violence, or misconduct involving firearms, the Department shall not release the firearm to a third party who claims to have had ownership of the weapon transferred to that third party by the owner since the seizure of the weapon.
(D) A person, other than the person from whom a weapon was seized, who claims ownership of the firearm must present documentary proof of ownership to the Department before the weapon will be released to that person.
(E) If the Department declines to return a firearm to any person for any reason identified in division (A) above, the claimant requesting the return of the firearm may file a petition with the City Municipal Court and request a hearing in accordance with § 99.04.
(F) Prior to receiving possession of the firearm, the prevailing claimant shall be required to provide a copy of the decision and appropriate identification to the Department.
(G) Any property not claimed by the prevailing party within 30 days from the date the Court issued its decision shall become unclaimed property, without the necessity of additional notice or further Court proceedings.
(Ord. O20-10-07, passed 10-20-2020; Res. R20-10-20, passed 10-20-2020)