Brian Terry death: Family to speak at sentencing of Jaime Avila Jr. in Fast and Furious case

Federal sentencing is Wednesday for a key suspect in the Fast and Furious gun smuggling scheme .

Jaime Avila Jr. could be sentenced to as many as ten years in prison for conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, making false statements, and smuggling weapons from the United States.

Federal court records show the prosecution has recommended a nearly five year prison sentence with a three year supervised release.

Avila purchased the assault weapons that were found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder. 

Terry was shot in the back in December 2010 during a shootout with Mexican bandits near the border. 

Federal prosecutors accused Avila of paying more than $55,000 in cash to straw purchase more than fifty firearms for delivery to the Mexican drug cartel.

Terry’s cousin, Bob Heyer, who runs the Brian Terry Foundation , will attend the sentencing and share a victim impact statement in front of the judge.

“I’m anxious to appear in court to stand in the courtroom as a representative of Brian and his family, and I hope he (Avila) recognizes the gravity and the seriousness and the violence that his and his co-defendants actions have caused,” Heyer said. 

“Brian Terry is the foremost known victim of this botched gun trafficking investigation that ATF and the DOJ launched almost three years ago, and we are here in Phoenix…to stand up and (have it be) recognized that Brian was a victim of the straw buying activity of which Jaime Avila Jr. has pled guilty to,” he said.

THE BRIAN TERRY FOUNDATION

Heyer continues to raise money for the Brian Terry Foundation which helps support the families of fallen law enforcement officers as well as students who want to pursue careers in criminal justice.

According to Heyer, the Brian Terry Foundation provided $5,000 to the family of Nicholas Ivie , another border patrol agent who was shot in the line of duty in October.