RENO, Nev. (AP) — A dispute between U.S. prosecutors and federal law agents in northern Nevada may have helped put firearms in the hands of dozens of people who shouldn't have them.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports at least three dozen people failed background checks in the past year. But they kept guns they purchased because the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives no longer has agents in northern Nevada to retrieve the weapons.
The Nevada Department of Public Safety in charge of conducting the background checks says it followed normal procedures and sent letters to the Reno ATF office asking agents to take back firearms from 36 people.
But the newspaper reports most Reno ATF agents transferred after an assistant U.S. attorney said the office would not prosecute their cases.
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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com
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