Storage Unit Allowed Sheriff To Seize Guns Before Auction — Now What?

Location: Virginia

I had a storage unit that was 2 months behind on payments and the facility had scheduled an auction for July 7th. On July 3rd, before the auction I contacted the storage facility to pay my past due balance so we didn’t lose our items in auction. After I made the payment and confirmed the auction would not take place the property manager informed me they went into the unit that morning to “prepare it for auction” and saw that we had multiple guns in the unit so they contacted the sheriff’s office and gave them access to my unit. We actually had two units, one personal and one business, they told the police there were a bunch of guns in my other unit as well and allowed them to enter. There were no guns in that unit or anything that could have even been confused for guns.

The sheriff’s office ran serial numbers on firearms stored inside. They flagged one as stolen, even though we’ve had that gun in the family since my husband was a kid (it was passed down from my father-in-law). We later found out it was a mistake — the wrong serial number was entered into the system. Because one was marked as stolen the sheriff removed all the guns and ammunition from the unit. The only reason we had those guns in the unit was due to safety concerns. It was a temporary solution to a bigger problem.

Since then, the police department has told us the firearms are being held until they finish ballistics and other procedures. We have not gotten them back yet.

My questions are: • Can a storage facility legally open your unit and let law enforcement remove items before the lien/auction date, without notice or a court order? • If the sheriff’s office took the guns without a warrant, does that make a difference? • What rights do I have now to get the property back?

Any guidance would be appreciated.