An Alaskan gun dealer faces trial for selling a Ruger .22-caliber rifle to a fugitive and drug addict who used it to kill a stranger outside a supermarket, reports the National Law Journal. The case is the first attempt in Alaska to hold a gun dealer liable for illegally selling a firearm that was used to injure or kill, says the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which represents relatives of the victim, Simone Kim. The case is one of several that the Brady Center has brought against gun dealers.
The suit, filed in 2008, alleges that Ray Coxe, owner of Rayco Sales, failed to do a background check when he sold the gun to Jason Coday, a fugitive and methamphetamine addict. Coday used the firearm two days later to shoot and kill Kim, 26, a man who was painting outside a Juneau supermarket. He was sent to prison after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder. Last week, Judge Philip Pallenberg denied summary judgment to Coxe.