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He May Be the First Person Charged Under Conn. Gun Registration Law — But Why Did Police Take 'Several' of His Legal Guns for 'Safe Keeping'?
This February 4, 2013 photo illustration in Manassas, Virginia, shows a Remington 20-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a Colt .45 semi-auto handgun, a Walther PK380 semi-auto handgun and various ammunition clips with a copy of the US Constitution on top of the American flag. US President Barack Obama Monday heaped pressure on Congress for action 'soon' on curbing gun violence. Obama made a pragmatic case for legislation on the contentious issue, arguing that just because political leaders could not save every life, they should at least try to save some victims of rampant gun crime. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

He May Be the First Person Charged Under Conn. Gun Registration Law — But Why Did Police Take 'Several' of His Legal Guns for 'Safe Keeping'?

Is this the beginning?

Police arrested a 65-year-old man in Milford, Conn., after he allegedly shot a squirrel in his yard on Monday. Upon further investigation, officers recovered an unregistered “assault rifle” and three “large-capacity magazines.”

Credit: AFP/Getty Images Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Now James Toigo faces a plethora of gun-related charges, including unlawful discharge of a firearm, cruelty to an animal, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree breach of peace, failure to register an assault rifle and three counts of possessing large-capacity magazines.

Under Connecticut’s hastily-passed gun control law, gun owners are required to register their so-called “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines with the state or face a class D felony. Many have argued the law is unconstitutional because gun owners who previously purchased firearms and magazines legally can be retroactively turned into criminals.

Police officers reportedly heard a gunshot nearby while they were directing traffic in the area. Authorities reportedly determined that Toigo shot the squirrel.

The firearm used to shoot the squirrel was not the semi-automatic rifle that police later confiscated. Officers also seized “several” other guns, even though they were not used in a crime and were legal.

“As the investigation progressed the officers seized several firearms from the home for safe keeping,” Officer Jeffrey Nielsen said in a press release. “That included the assault riffle and the three high capacity magazine he did not have registered.”

To reiterate, police confiscated "several" of the man’s other firearms, even though Nielsen admitted the majority of them were registered and legal.

Toigo will not get his guns back until his case is heard. Depending on the outcome of the case, he will then have to petition the police department to get his firearms back.

Toigo is scheduled to appear in court on May 13, the New Haven Register reports.

(H/T: BearingArms.com)

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