In what circumstances will a police officer seize a gun from the couch of a defendant's home?

In People v. Cove (1964) 228 Cal.App.2d 466, 39 Cal.Rptr. 535, officers responded to a radio call dispatching them to investigate a man brandishing a gun. The complaining witness told the officers the defendant threatened her with a gun. One of the officers peered through the defendant's apartment window while the other knocked on the door and informed the defendant of the complaint. The officer at the window observed the defendant, who was intoxicated, give his gun to another person who secured it under the couch. The first officer entered the apartment and was later followed by the officer who observed the companion hide the gun. He immediately seized the weapon from the couch.