Posted by Lucio R. Borderland Beat Republished from Houston Chron and Austin Statesman
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| Wright is second from left-he changed his plea to guilty in May receiving a light sentence |
Disgraced former Williamson County Court-at-Law Judge Timothy Wright was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison for illegally selling guns and lying about the deals, including weapons peddled to criminals.
Wright, 70, of Georgetown, pleaded guilty in May to engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license and to making false statements to a government agent. He resigned following his guilty pleas.
Wright also was fined $15,000; he had faced a possible penalty of up to five years in prison.
5 years is what he could have faced after many of the charges were dropped in the plea. However, Wright faced a total of up to 70 years in prison for the charges: Up to 10 years in prison on each of the five firearm charges and up to five years in prison on each of the four counts of making a false statement to a government agent.
He was also indicted on:
•One count of aiding and abetting and facilitating the smuggling and attempted smuggling of firearms
•One count of facilitating the smuggling and attempted smuggling of firearms
•Two counts of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm
•Two counts of making a false statement to government agents
Wright, 70, has served as the judge of Williamson County Court-at-Law 2 since 2003 and presides over the county’s DWI and drug court.
Prosecutors say that since June 2014, Wright sold more than 60 firearms without a federal license, including deals with felons, who by law are barred from possessing guns. Some of his gun sales were sold to two people who were smuggling the firearms across the Texas border into Mexico.
"While sworn to uphold the law, Judge Timothy Wright repeatedly violated federal laws governing the sale of firearms," according to U.S. Attorney Richard Durbin Jr. "... He falsified official firearms records to hide the true identity of the real buyer and then lied to federal investigators about his crimes. These are serious crimes for which he has been held accountable."
Wright apologized in May and said no one was above the law, "especially not judges