Questions continue about how Joseph Jones was able to obtain the AR-15-style rifle he used when he opened fire in a Target on Tuesday. Sarpy County Sheriff Jeff Davis gave KETV NewsWatch 7 insight into the four encounters his department had with Jones and his family since 2017.The reports range from a missing person, to a DUI and times Jones' family feared he was unfit to possess a firearm.Davis said he still possesses a gun confiscated from Jones in 2021, and he is proud of his department's actions."He has repeatedly tried to get that gun back, and we said no. Some people will tell you that's a violation of his Second Amendment right. It might be," Davis said. "There are laws that, in some cases, would say maybe we have to give it back. I'd also say that I'm the sheriff, and I took an oath to protect the public, and that's what I'm going to do as well as the people that work here."Davis said the family did not want the gun back in Jones' hands."I think we did more than I think some people are going to tell you. We had no right to take his gun away. But we do that for safekeeping, for his benefit, like I said, his family, the general public and our officers," Davis said.On Wednesday, Larry Derksen, Jr., told KETV NewsWatch 7 his nephew had schizophrenia."He was mentally unstable, and the system should have taken away his rights when he became a danger to others," Derksen said.Sheriff's deputies took Jones into emergency custody in November 2021.According to the incident report, a deputy "saw issues that definitely needed to be addressed.""So we always, whenever possible, err on the side of caution. We did not give the handgun back to him, but he certainly had a right to go out and buy one, and he did so," Davis said.Not just a handgun — but an assault-style rifle.Omaha police said Jones bought the gun legally at a Cabela's four days before the shooting.He was carrying it, along with 13 full magazines of ammunition, when he walked into the Target at 178th Street and West Center Road and started shooting.Omaha police officer Brian Vanderheiden shot and killed Jones minutes after the first 911 calls came in.There were no red flags on a background check, Davis said, because Jones never went in front of the Sarpy County Mental Health Board, which a doctor has to recommend."But really, our hands are tied once we've taken somebody in. They see a doctor. Sometimes they're given medication. Two or three days later, they let him out," Davis said.Sarpy County chief deputy attorney Bonnie Moore said a very small number of people taken into emergency custody end up in front of that mental health board, which can place people in mandatory treatment and limit their ability to purchase a gun."If the patient voluntarily agrees to the treatment plan, then there's no need to go through with the board of mental health hearing. It's kind of like a plea agreement or a board of mental health case," Moore said.But oversight about whether people are following through on their treatment is not perfect.Derksen said his nephew preferred recreational drugs to those he was prescribed."We know there are gaps in the system, and we're working every day to try and close those gaps. Whether closing those gaps would have made a difference in the outcome here, I don't know. We can't speculate, but we're going to try and make it better," Moore said.A family member can refer someone to the county attorney in hopes of getting that mental health evaluation.But a medical analysis still has to deem that person dangerous before a hearing will be considered.Sarpy County also has a threat assessment team, which assigns a psychologist to go out and follow up with people.Davis said he receives dozens of tips on a regular basis, but Jones wasn't flagged by that team.