When property not belonging to a law enforcement agency comes into the custody of the agency, the property shall be disposed of in accordance with this chapter.

In this chapter,

(1) 'final disposition of a case' means the time when all appeals have been exhausted or the time when all appeals that could have been taken has expired;

(2) 'law enforcement agency' means a public agency that performs as one of its principal functions an activity relating to crime prevention, control, or reduction or relating to the enforcement of the criminal law; 'law enforcement agency' does not include a court;

(3) [Repealed, Sec. 53 ch 30 SLA 1996].

(a) A claimant seeking remission of the claimant's interest in a weapon ordered forfeited under Section 12.55.015 (a)(9) shall prove to the court by a preponderance of evidence that the claimant

(1) has a valid interest in the weapon, acquired in good faith;

(2) did not knowingly participate in the commission of the crime in which the weapon was used; and

(3) did not know or have reasonable cause to believe that the weapon was used or would be used to commit a crime.

(b) Upon a showing that a claimant is entitled to relief under (a) of this section, the court may order that the weapon be released to the claimant.

(c) A claim may not be filed under this section more than 120 days after the entry of the last final judgment in the case in which the weapon was ordered forfeited.

(a) When the owner of property is unknown and the property comes into the possession of a law enforcement agency as suspected evidence of a crime but is not used in a criminal proceeding or a children's court proceeding, or when the property comes into the possession of a law enforcement agency by other means, the property shall be held for one year. If the property is not claimed within one year of the date it comes into the possession of a law enforcement agency, the property shall be disposed of as provided in Section 12.36.030 (b).

(b) This section does not apply to property that comes into the custody of a law enforcement agency of a municipality that has adopted an ordinance providing for the custody and disposition of property that meets the requirements specified in Section 12.36.030 (c).

(a) When a private individual obtains property of another that is lost, mislaid, or delivered to the individual by mistake, the individual delivers that property to a law enforcement agency, and the true owner of the property remains unknown for a period of one year or does not claim the property within one year, the individual delivering the property shall be considered the owner of the property under this chapter if possession of the property by the individual is otherwise legal. If, after the one-year period, the private individual who delivered the property to the law enforcement agency cannot be found or does not want the property, the property shall be disposed of by the agency as if the owner is unknown.

(b) This section does not apply to property that comes into the custody of a law enforcement agency of a municipality that has adopted an ordinance providing for the custody and disposition of property that meets the requirements specified in Section 12.36.030 (c).

(a) A deadly weapon, other than a firearm or ammunition, forfeited to the state under Section 12.55.015 (a)(9), unless remitted under Section 12.36.050 , shall be disposed of by the commissioner of public safety under this section. Under this subsection, the commissioner of public safety

(1) may declare a weapon surplus and transfer it to the commissioner of administration;

(2) may, if the weapon is suitable for law enforcement purposes, training, or identification, retain the weapon for use by the Department of Public Safety or transfer the weapon to the municipal law enforcement agency making the arrest that led to the forfeiture;

(3) shall destroy a weapon that is unsafe or unlawful.

(b) The commissioner of public safety may adopt regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

(c) A firearm or ammunition forfeited to the state under Section 12.55.015(a)(9), unless remitted under Section 12.36.050 , shall be disposed of as provided in Section 18.65.340 .

(a) A law enforcement agency may

(1) not return property in its custody to the owner or the agent of the owner if

(A) the property is in custody in connection with a children's court proceeding, a criminal proceeding, or an official investigation of a crime; or

(B) the property in custody is subject to forfeiture under the laws of the

(i) state; or

(ii) United States, and the United States has commenced forfeiture proceedings against the property or has requested the transfer of the property for the commencement of forfeiture proceedings; and

(2) with the approval of the court, transfer the property to another state or federal law enforcement agency for forfeiture proceedings by that agency; the court having jurisdiction shall grant the approval under this paragraph if the property

(A) will be retained within the jurisdiction of the court by the agency to which the property is being transferred; or

(B) is

(i) not needed as evidence; or

(ii) needed as evidence, and the property is fungible or the property's evidentiary value can otherwise be preserved without retaining the property within the jurisdiction of the court.

(b) In a criminal proceeding or a children's court proceeding involving the wrongful taking or damaging of property where photographs of the property are used as evidence in place of the property, the prosecuting attorney may release the property to the owner upon presentation of satisfactory proof of ownership.

(c) If wrongfully taken or damaged property is not photographed and authenticated under Section 12.45.086 and the property is used as evidence in a criminal proceeding or a children's court proceeding, the law enforcement agency in possession of the property shall return it to the owner upon presentation of satisfactory proof of ownership within 60 days after the final disposition of the case.

(a) If property that is used as evidence in a criminal proceeding or a children's court proceeding, including wrongfully taken or damaged property, is not claimed by the owner within one year after the final disposition of the case, the law enforcement agency having custody of the property shall dispose of it under (b) of this section.

(b) Property referenced in (a) of this section shall be disposed of by a

(1) municipal law enforcement agency in the following manner:

(A) for that part of the property that is subject to Section 34.45.110 - 34.45.780, in accordance with Section 34.45.110 - 34.45.780;

(B) for that part of the property that is not subject to Section 34.45.110 - 34.45.780, by selling the property in the same manner as a sale upon execution; after paying the expenses for the preservation and sale of the property, the law enforcement agency shall dispose of the proceeds of the sale in the same manner as money collected upon a judgment;

(2) state law enforcement agency in the following manner:

(A) if the property is a firearm or ammunition, in the manner provided in Section 18.65.340 ;

(B) if the property is other than a firearm or ammunition, and the property is

(i) subject to Section 34.45.110 - 34.45.780, in accordance with Section 34.45.110 - 34.45.780;

(ii) not subject to Section 34.45.110 - 34.45.780, by selling the property in the same manner as a sale upon execution; after paying the expenses for the preservation and sale of the property, the law enforcement agency shall dispose of the proceeds of the sale in the same manner as money collected upon a judgment.

(c) This section does not apply to property that comes into the custody of a law enforcement agency of a municipality if the municipality has adopted an ordinance providing for the custody and disposition of the property and if the ordinance requires that

(1) property held or collected as evidence in a children's court proceeding, a criminal proceeding, or an official investigation of a crime is to be held until at least 30 days after final disposition of the case to which the evidence pertains; and

(2) the municipality make reasonable attempts to identify and locate the owner of the property that is unclaimed.