Wright pleads guilty in gun case
Williamson County judge admits illegal sale of over 60 firearms.
Tim Wright, a Williamson County court-at-law judge charged with peddling firearms that found their way into Mexico, is facing up to fifive years in prison after he pleaded guilty Thursday to two of nine felony counts stemming from his side business selling guns.
In a plea agreement revealing new details in the case, Wright, 70, admitted he dealt firearms without a license and made false statements to law enforcement agents, illegally selling more than 60 weapons from June 1, 2014, to Dec. 15, 2014. Among his buyers was an undercover informant he had known was a convicted felon.
Outside the federal courthouse in Austin, the judge — who through his lawyers had claimed he was innocent — told reporters he was guilty of the violations and ready to accept full responsibility. He resigned from his position effective immediately and sai d he would voluntarily surrender his licenses to practice law, carry a concealed handgun and engage in the manufacturing of federal firearms.
“No one is above the law, especially not judges,” Wright sai d. “I sincerely apolo gize to my family, friends and the
“No one is above the law, especially not judges,” Tim Wright said. He faces up to fifive years in prison.
people of Williamson County for any discredit or embarrassment I may have created as a result of my actions.”
A date for his sentencing in front of U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks hasn’t been set.
The new court records say Wright lied to federal agents about when he began selling firearms as a licensed dealer and created paperwork to falsely represent a sale. The judge also allowed a paid Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives informant to be involved in several transactions, though the man told Wright he had been convicted seven years earlier of a felony, the records state.
Wright first came into the sights of ATF in September 2014, when agents discovered he had bought more than 80 weapons over several months and was selling them at gun shows without a license. The judge said he would stop as instructed and completed the application and training required for a federal firearms license.
He was issued the permit in December 2014 but didn’t receive it until early January. By then, law enforcement agents were on his trail. The court records say two people, identified only as “Person One” and “Person Two,” were buying firearms from Wright and others and smuggling them into Mexico.
Mexican law enforcement agents recovered two of those weapons, and, based on a trace of their serial numbers, authorities found they had been bought and sold by Wright in July 2014. “Person One,” who was netted in November 2014, alerted authorities to “Person Two” and agreed to help with the investigation.
In the presence of ATF agents, the cooperator spoke with Wright over the phone in December 2014 and arranged to buy two Glock pistols. Wright acquired and sold the weapons without a license, then filled out an ATF form, listing himself as the buyer instead of the seller.
That transaction and others made agents curious as to whether the judge would sell to a felon, the records state. So, they had “Person One” introduce Wright to “Juan Carlos,” an alias for a paid informant convicted of distributing more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and who has previously been referenced as “J.C.”
On three occasions in February, Wright conducted firearm sales in his truck with “Person One” and Juan Carlos inside, allowing the informant to handle the weapons, according to his plea agreement. When ATF agents interviewed him in March, Wright denied the allegations, though he was warned that lying would be a federal crime.
The case has brought a sudden end to the long legal career of a man who earned a reputation among both prosecutors and defense attorneys as an impartial and fair judge. Wright, who developed a passion for hunting and guns after he moved to Georgetown in 1970, had become a regular at gun shows, trading under his enterprise, Gun Addicts.
He had hoped to continue his business after retirement.