DALLAS — A man accused of selling a handgun to a British national who took a rabbi and three other men hostage at a North Texas synagogue will remain in custody until his trial, a federal judge ordered Wednesday morning after a hearing in Dallas.
Henry "Michael" Williams, 32, of Dallas, is accused of selling Malik Faisal Akram a semiautomatic Taurus G2C pistol on Jan. 13, just two days before the Colleyville synagogue hostage standoff that the FBI investigated as an act of terrorism.
Akram told Williams he wanted to buy drugs and "a machine gun or a weapon that contains a large number of bullets," but ended up purchasing the stolen handgun from Williams, an FBI agent testified.
FBI Special Agent Taylor Page testified that Akram fired the gun during the standoff but he did not give further details.
None of the hostages were injured during the nearly 11-hour standoff at Congregation Beth Israel. Akram released one hostage and the others escaped before FBI agents stormed the building and fatally shot the hostage-taker.
Page, who was part of the SWAT team that responded to the hostage crisis, testified Wednesday that after initially denying his involvement, Williams admitted selling the gun to Akram.
He's charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Williams was previously convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon when he was 16, and later convicted of three felony drug offenses, most recently on a marijuana charge in 2014, according to testimony.
An FBI investigation found that Akram and Williams exchanged a series of calls between Jan. 11 and Jan 13 before meeting up in south Dallas for the gun sale. Williams was brought in for questioning on Jan. 18, when he told FBI agents that he had not had possession of a firearm within the last month and that the phone calls had to have been from someone else using his phone.
Williams was later arrested on Jan. 24 after law enforcement found inconsistencies in his story. Page said Williams then admitted that a man with a foreign accent had contacted him, "out of the blue," and must have gotten his phone number from someone else. When Williams was shown a picture of Akram, he confirmed that was the man who purchased the firearm from him.
According to Page, Williams told investigators that Akram met with him near a residence around Peabody Avenue. Akram got off a bus and had a bike, Williams told investigators, who believe that's how he traveled to Colleyville two days later.
Akram told Williams he was going to use the gun for intimidation and "to get money from someone with an outstanding debt," Page said. Williams proceeded with the sale for "solely financial purposes," and later told a family member that Akram said he was going to hurt someone, the agent testified.
Williams said that Akram talked about wanting a machine gun and drugs including cocaine and meth, Page testified. Akram withdrew $550 from a check cashing business, the agent said.
Williams said he got the semiautomatic handgun that he sold to Akram from an associate of a family member, the agent testified. The firearm was last reported stolen in 2020, Page said, adding that Williams admitted to brokering 10 to 15 other gun sales on the streets in the past.
Williams' wife, Lakasha Jones, 42, also testified at the hearing. When asked about his recent arrest, Jones said she was surprised and embarrassed, but that she was willing to be responsible for him if he was released pending trial.
Jones testified that the pair had been together for about 12 years and that Williams was trying to teach their 13-year-old son "right from wrong," but admitted that she was unaware of "everything he does," and that he worked a variety of side jobs.
Jones said that she often "had to" be tough on her husband and tried to keep him out of trouble the best she could, but sometimes he didn't listen.
At the end of the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Magliolo said that Williams ignored red flags in selling the gun to Akram and that it was clear the hostage-taker intended to use the gun for violence. The prosecution team also argued that Williams had to be "notorious" around the area for his ability to obtain illegal weapons in order for Akram to have received his contact information within days of being in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Williams' defense attorney, Suzy Vanegas, said it would be unfair to punish him for Akram's actions and that there was no way for him to know what Akram was going to do. His attorney also noted that Williams was a father figure, and "trying to teach a young boy."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford ruled that "no number of conditions" would be able to assure Williams' return to court for his trial, which is scheduled for April 11 in U.S. District Court in Dallas, according to court records. The judge said Williams is a flight risk, "knowing the consequences if convicted," and that he was not a good candidate for release pending trial.
