Suspect pulls gun during drug transaction

Drug enforcement officers arrested a 20-year-old ex-felon and his 17-year-old accomplice Wednesday after they allegedly witnessed the suspects pull a handgun on a confidential informant in the midst of a drug deal.

Jamar William Jackson and the unnamed juvenile, both of Carson City, were arrested on a charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Jackson, an ex-felon, also was charged with committing a parole violation and was held without bail at the Douglas County Jail

The 17-year-old was held at the Douglas County Juvenile Detention Center.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office Street Enforcement Team, working with the Tri-Net Task Force, arrested the suspects in the parking lot of a Douglas County shopping center.

A third suspect was briefly detained but later released.

The attempted robbery occurred during an undercover drug purchase, officials said.

An undercover operative met with the suspects to purchase one pound of marijuana. During the transaction, Jackson displayed a handgun and insisted that the undercover informant give Jackson the money.

The undercover operative asked Jackson to show him the drugs, which Jackson refused to do.

At that point, arrest teams moved in and took the suspects into custody.

It was discovered that Jackson had no marijuana.

One of the suspects later admitted to investigators that the three never had any marijuana, as they intended to rob the undercover operative from the outset, according to reports.

Jackson was recently paroled from the Northern Nevada Corrections Center. Jackson had been sentenced in 2007 to 30 months in prison for an arrest in Sparks for possession of marijuana with the intent to sell.