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Holland v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Apr 15, 1992
418 S.E.2d 400 (Ga. Ct. App. 1992)

Opinion

A92A0447.

DECIDED APRIL 15, 1992.

Motion for return of articles. Gwinnett State Court. Before Judge Hoffman.

Donald L. Hudson, Jr., for appellant.

Gerald N. Blaney, Jr., Solicitor, Jessica R. Towne, Assistant Solicitor, for appellee.


Appellant/defendant Henry Frank Holland was charged with simple assault, pointing a gun at another, and reckless conduct. Defendant pled nolo contendere to the charge of reckless conduct, and the State dismissed the other two charges. At the time of his arrest, six firearms were seized from defendant's home.

In his sole enumeration of error, defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his post-trial motion for return of the firearms seized from his home. In support of his argument, defendant relies on OCGA § 17-5-2, which authorizes the return of items, other than contraband, if no charges are preferred against the person arrested.

OCGA § 17-5-51 states that any weapon used in the commission of a crime is contraband and is forfeited. The record reveals that the reckless conduct charge against defendant resulted from the use of only one of the firearms seized; therefore, only this one firearm can be labelled contraband under OCGA § 17-5-51 and thus forfeited. The other firearms seized from defendant's home are not contraband because those guns were not used in the commission of a crime and are not stolen property. Therefore, the remaining guns must be returned to defendant or to some party designated by him to receive his property. Gunter v. State, 182 Ga. App. 548 ( 356 S.E.2d 276) (1987); LoGiudice v. State, 164 Ga. App. 709 (4) ( 297 S.E.2d 499) (1982).

Judgment reversed. Carley, P. J., and Johnson, J., concur.

DECIDED APRIL 15, 1992.


Summaries of

Holland v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Apr 15, 1992
418 S.E.2d 400 (Ga. Ct. App. 1992)
Case details for

Holland v. State

Case Details

Full title:HOLLAND v. THE STATE

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Apr 15, 1992

Citations

418 S.E.2d 400 (Ga. Ct. App. 1992)
418 S.E.2d 400