By: Teresa Mull

A Florida man, reportedly caught in a case of mistaken identity, was ordered by police to surrender his guns before he had so much as a court case.

AmmoLand.com reports Jonathan Carpenter of Osceola County, Florida received a certified letter from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services informing him his concealed handgun permit had been suspended because “an injunction was entered restraining you from acts of domestic violence or acts of repeat violations.”

According to AmmoLand, “The letter shocked Carpenter, who has never had a run-in with the law.”

Carpenter tried to clear up the situation with the police and in so doing, learned a woman had filed a restraining order against a “Jonathan Edward Carpenter” from whom she had rented a room.

AmmoLand reports:

Carpenter had never met the woman in question and never lived at the address listed in the restraining order. Moreover, other than being white, he looked nothing like the man who had terrorized the woman.

It was apparent that the police had the wrong man, but Carpenter was in for his biggest shock yet. The Sherriff’s office told Carpenter he had to surrender his guns. Carpenter never even had as much as a hearing, yet he was losing his rights.

“The last thing on my mind was me having to turn over my gun,” Carpenter told AmmoLand. “I was upset when the Sheriff told me that I need to surrender my gun before any due process.”

He would not be able to get them back until he goes to court so the women can verify to the judge that they have the wrong Jonathan Carpenter. He would have to petition the court for the return of his firearms. An added expense that Carpenter would have to cover himself!

For Carpenter, he has to wait until August 27th for his day in court to start the process of getting his firearms rights back. To him, he had the presumption of innocence taken away. He is currently seeking legal counsel.

Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].