Accused of trading guns last year without doing a required background check, a local state trooper has been charged with a misdemeanor.
Jason Patrick Kirk, 27, of Ceres was arrested on Jan. 24 under a 2020 law subjecting even private sales or trades to background checks.
According to a criminal complaint from Virginia State Police Special Agent T.D. Sykes, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives got an anonymous complaint that Kirk had sold or traded a firearm to a felon.
The ATF sent the complaint to state police.
Sykes said Kirk and the man met at Kirk’s residence last spring to trade rifles.
Although the man did have a felony conviction, his firearms rights had been legally restored in Smyth County Circuit Court.
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“However, Mr. Kirk did not obtain a background check on the individual prior to making the firearm trade,” Sykes wrote. “Both parties were interviewed and both parties gave a matching description of events.”
Released on a summons, Kirk has hired a local attorney to represent him on the charge. A conviction could result in up to a year in jail and a fine.
His trial date’s been set for May 24 in Bland County General District Court.
A state police spokesperson said Kirk was hired in July 2018 and assigned to Wythe and Bland counties. Suspended without pay after his arrest and pending the outcome of his case, Kirk has submitted his resignation, the spokesperson said.
