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RENO, Nev., July 31 (UPI) -- Police in Sparks, Nev., say they are investigating the sale of a firearm by a Reno police officer to a 19-year-old mentally ill man. Reno Police Chief Steve Pitts asked the Sparks police to investigate the incident to determine whether any laws were broken, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Friday.
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A Washoe County District Court judge had ruled the man incompetent to care for himself, and granted his parents full guardianship in June 2012.
The ruling made it illegal for the man to have a gun, the Gazette-Journal said.
It is illegal to knowingly sell a gun to a person who is prohibited from having a firearm, but Nevada laws do not require background checks for private sales.
The officer who sold the firearm, Sgt. Laura Conklin, remains on duty, the newspaper said.
The 19-year-old saw a gun on a website and contacted Conklin earlier this month, The Gazette-Journal said.
The pair met at a Starbucks at 4 a.m. July 2 while Conklin was on duty.
Conklin checked the man's driver license and then sold him the gun and three magazines for $950.
The man's parents were outraged when they learned of the sale, as their son has Asperger's Syndrome and suffers from bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts, the newspaper said.
