Fast And Furious Gunbuyer Pleads Guilty

April 05, 2012

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The man accused of buying the two weapons found at the murder scene of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry pleaded guilty to two felony counts Thursday. But none of the charges involve the murder case.

They also don't include any mention of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives gun walking scheme. That was an operation called Fast and Furious.

Instead, Jaime Avila pleaded guilty to dealing guns without a federal firearms license and making false statements in a gun buy. He had previously said he was not guilty.

Avila was one member of a 20-person gunbuying ring that was trafficking in weapons for Mexican drug cartels. Two of the guns he purchased from a gun shop in the Phoenix area were found at the murder scene of Brian Terry in 2010.

An FBI ballistics report shows investigators could not determine whether one of those guns was used to kill the agent.

Avila had been monitored by the ATF and congressional records show the accused leader of the gunbuying ring, Manuel Celis Acosta, had agreed to work with the agency. Avila will be sentenced in June.