Legal or not? What are my friends options

[chaco]

So my friend who i just met is a field investigator and he told me a story how once he was doing surveillance work on a guy on worker compensation fraud. While staying at his van to video tape him, somehow the guy knew he was being followed, and he was not too happy. The guy called several of his friends from his house and when they arrived, they ambushed my friend while he was in his car. They broke several windows trying to get the door open and in the process of fighting with the guys, he was overpowered, got tied up, and kidnapped. Thankfully nothing happened to him as the company he worked for noticed he didnt report in so they called the police. After an hour or two the police found his car which was not too far from the guys house he was surveillancing. He testified against the guy and the people involved, now they are not only in prison for fraud but also for kidnapping charges.

Now the question, is it legal for him to leave a firearm in his van that is not loaded, magazine with ammo seperate, and in a locked box? He wont be walking around with it as if he has a CWL but what about if he just leaves it in his van in-case a situation such as the one he experienced?

[G30 Steve]

Originally Posted by chaco

So my friend who i just met is a field investigator and he told me a story how once he was doing surveillance work on a guy on worker compensation fraud. While staying at his van to video tape him, somehow the guy knew he was being followed, and he was not too happy. The guy called several of his friends from his house and when they arrived, they ambushed my friend while he was in his car. They broke several windows trying to get the door open and in the process of fighting with the guys, he was overpowered, got tied up, and kidnapped. Thankfully nothing happened to him as the company he worked for noticed he didnt report in so they called the police. After an hour or two the police found his car which was not too far from the guys house he was surveillancing. He testified against the guy and the people involved, now they are not only in prison for fraud but also for kidnapping charges.

Now the question, is it legal for him to leave a firearm in his van that is not loaded, magazine with ammo seperate, and in a locked box? He wont be walking around with it as if he has a CWL but what about if he just leaves it in his van in-case a situation such as the one he experienced?

While it may be legal to transport a handgun as you described it's not practical. It takes way too long to get your weapon into action while under attack.

It would have been much faster and safer if your friend would have planned an escape route beforehand so as he was attacked he could have driven away to a safe place and called the Police on his cell phone while doing so.

[OCRancher]

Originally Posted by G30 Steve

While it may be legal to transport a handgun as you described it's not practical. It takes way too long to get your weapon into action while under attack.

It would have been much faster and safer if your friend would have planned an escape route beforehand so as he was attacked he could have driven away to a safe place and called the Police on his cell phone while doing so.

True. And unless he is self employed, you have to wonder if his employer would allow this.

[Ken_In_Colo]

Sounds to me like what the OP described meets or exceeds the "Good Cause" threshold.

[Spicy McHaggis]

Originally Posted by chaco

Now the question, is it legal for him to leave a firearm in his van that is not loaded, magazine with ammo seperate, and in a locked box? He wont be walking around with it as if he has a CWL but what about if he just leaves it in his van in-case a situation such as the one he experienced?

It is legal for him to store it that way; however, in a situation like that it would take too long to get to the handgun, unlock it, and then load it. It would be quicker to start up the van and go. They will either get out of the way or he will hit them. In either case, he would have been justified in doing that.

I would tell him to think about carrying a shotgun in his van if he got in to a situation he could not retreat from. It would have to be unloaded, but it doesn't need to be locked up. He could lay it down on the floor, preferably covered up in case the guy calls the police, instead of his friends, about a "suspicious person" watching him.

I don't know what type of field investigator he is, but if he is a licensed PI doing that type of work I think he could get a license to CCW. However, I do not know if LA County issues CCWs to PIs. I'm sure those here that know will say though.

[SierraNevadaCCW]

I've done this kind of surviellance. He should have seen it coming.

[1buba]

RE: the letter of the law...

Without a CCW, isn't the locked in a case REALLY only for transport to/from?

[AuburnHunter]

Originally Posted by SierraNevadaCCW

I've done this kind of surviellance. He should have seen it coming.

Yikes, that is a pretty good point. Not to be too harsh, but maybe this guy needs a new line of work.

[chaco]

G30 Steve - He was in the back of his van and it was kind of like a surprise cause he told me that one guy broke his window on the driver side to press the unlock door while the others could ambush him. I don't think he could have tried to avoid it by driving away even if he could.

Spicy McHaggis - I told him about the shotgun idea but at that time, i didn't read or know much about the CA firearm law for shotguns. But now that i read the section about transporting a firearm (not concealable weapons), I found out it was legal as long as the shotgun shells are seperate and not loaded into the shotgun.


SierraNevadaCCW - Hard to say that he could or should have seen it coming but i do not know too much info from what he told me

AuburnHunter - a job is a job, it is hard to find jobs especially since the economy isn't doing so great in CA. I'm hearing lots of companies are laying off people.


Thanks you all you guys for your advice and input

[NSP]

Originally Posted by chaco

AuburnHunter - a job is a job, it is hard to find jobs especially since the economy isn't doing so great in CA. I'm hearing lots of companies are laying off people.

Not every job gets you beat up and kidnapped with the possibility of being killed and buried in the woods. You cannot say that it is just a job. It is a high risk job and he either needs to equip himself correctly or leave that job. I wouldn't take a hasmat job if I had to do it without a suit and an air mask.

I hope he doesn't have a wife and kid at home as they will be worried for a long time every time he leaves for work.

[SierraNevadaCCW]

Originally Posted by chaco

SierraNevadaCCW - Hard to say that he could or should have seen it coming but i do not know too much info from what he told me

Strange....I'm a member of the largest PI organization in California and I haven't heard a word about this. I get several emails a day on current happenings, case query, jobs available, legal questions, PI news...etc etc. Could I have missed this? When and where did this "happen"?

[chaco]

Originally Posted by SierraNevadaCCW

Strange....I'm a member of the largest PI organization in California and I haven't heard a word about this. I get several emails a day on current happenings, case query, jobs available, legal questions, PI news...etc etc. Could I have missed this? When and where did this "happen"?

lol like i said, im not too sure about the details. ill have to get back to you on that next time i see him