Most California Judges would be delighted to snap up someone’s guns, but not this judge. In fact, one judge in Yolo County California refused to allow the confiscation of a defendant’s firearms despite repeated requests from the prosecutors to take them away.
Yolo County Superior Court Judge David W. Reed would not allow authorities to confiscate the firearms of Trent Stonerock despite requests from Deputy District Attorney Alex Kian.
Trent Stonerock got into a physical altercation with his son back in 2018, and was charged with a misdemeanor for resisting/ obstructing a police officer. According to the prosecution, the presence of Stonerock’s firearms made the police uncomfortable and this is why they want the firearms to be confiscated.
From Davis Vanguard:
The presence of Stonerock’s firearms, which were loaded, allegedly made the officers “concerned for their safety” as they dealt with the situation.
Kian proposed that Stonerock “surrender his firearms for a period of a year.” Kian wanted to make sure that Stonerock knows he’s “getting off with a diversion [of the misdemeanor charge],” and stressed that there must therefore be “some consequences as an incentive to comply.”
Kian suggested Stonerock “surrender [his firearms] to a licensed gun dealer in his state [Ohio].”
Further stressing public safety concerns, Kian asked that “drug terms be imposed,” which included frequent drug testing. He also added that “there’s claims of mental health issues and what not,” which increase public safety concerns.
The persecution was ruthless in their demands, this might have been what ultimately made the judge throw the defendant a bone. Judge David W. Reed allowed Stonerock to keep his firearms but instead demanded that he do 40 hours of community service outside of his church. The Judge would also go on to say that the court could “not have anything to do with the guns.”
What is crazy about this case is just how brutal the prosecution is, especially considering that California prosecutors typically have no issue with public urination, heroin use, shoplifting, or vandalism. It looks like the prosecution wanted to punish Stonerock simply because he was a gun owner, however, because he moved to another state it wasn’t really feasible for them to confiscate his guns themselves.
