Man who sold pistol to hostage-taker in Texas pleads guilty

DALLAS (AP) — A man who sold a pistol to a man who used it to hold four hostages inside a Texas synagogue before being fatally shot by the FBI early this year pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal gun crime, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Henry “Michael” Dwight Williams, 32, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, prosectors said. Williams sold Malik Faisal Akram the weapon Arkam used when he entered Congregation Beth Israel in the Dallas-area suburb of Colleyville on Jan. 15 and held the synagogue’s rabbi and three others hostage, according to prosecutors.

Williams faces up to 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

Williams, who previously was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted possession of a controlled substance, sold Akram a semi-automatic pistol on Jan. 13. In plea papers, Williams admitted to possession of that firearm despite his prior conviction, prosecutors said.

Akram, a 44-year-old British citizen, held hostages while demanding the release of a federal prisoner. The standoff ended after more than 10 hours when the temple’s rabbi threw a chair at Akram and fled with the other two remaining hostages just as an FBI tactical team was moving in. None of the hostages were injured.

Williams was arrested less than two weeks later.