Gun Arrest In Littleton
Today Philip Duran put a face on the debate over young people buying guns.
Duran, a former co-worker of the two teens who went on a killing spree at Colorado's Columbine High School in April was arrested Friday for allegedly helping two teens obtain the semi-automatic gun used in a rampage that left 15 people dead, authorities said. CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone reports.
Duran, 22, worked with gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold at the Blackjack pizza shop, and is accused of introducing them to friend Mark Manes, who sold them a TEC-DC9 gun. Manes was also arrested for allegedly supplying the weapon.
Klebold and Harris worked with Duran at Blackjack pizza. Police say he acted as the middleman when they went looking for an assault pistol.
"[The TEC-9] has the capacity for a lot of rounds of ammunition so its a very deadly weapon," said Jefferson County Sheriff Steve Davis. The power of the weapons the two teenagers carried remains evident in the bullet holes still to be seen inside the high school.
Duran was arrested at the Jefferson County Jail in Golden Thursday after turning himself in. He is charged with providing a gun to a minor, which carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $2,000 to $500,000 fine.
Duran also is accused of possessing a dangerous or illegal weapon, which carries a maximum of three years in prison and a $1,000 to $3,000 fine, the sheriff's office said. He was released late Thursday after posting bond, which had been set at $15,000.
Duran's arrest "closes the circle with regard to the TEC-9," said Mark Pautler, a chief deputy in the district attorney's office.
Harris, 18, and Klebold, 17, stormed Columbine on April 20, hurling explosives and blasting away with four guns. They killed 13 people and wounded 23 students before committing suicide.
In the rampage, Harris and Klebold used a TEC DC-9 that was purchased from Manes, 22, nearly four months prior to the shooting.
Three other guns, two shotguns and a rifle, were used in the shooting spree. Those weapons were legally purchased by Klebold's prom date, 18-year-old Robyn Anderson, who has not been charged, investigators said.
Division Chief John Kiekbusch said, "the sheriff's department doesn't anticipate any additional arrests in the near future."
But Sheriff Department Spokesman Steve Davis told CBS This Morning that they still haven't ruled out the possibility that there was a third gunmen in the school.
Manes, a computer programmer, told investigators Duran introduced him to Harris and Klebold at the Tanner Gun Show in Denver on Jan. 23. Manes said he agreed at that time to sell Klebold the TEC DC-9 for $500, the arrest warrant said.
Several hours later, Klebold went to Manes' home and gave Manes a $300 down payment for the gun. Two weeks later, Duran delivered Manes the $200 balance for Harris and Klebold, according to the arrest warrant.
Duran allegely collected $125 from Harris and Klebold for helping them purchase the TEC DC-9.
At Denver's gang unit, Capt. Gary Leuthauser says teenagers don't even need a middleman.
"You pick up the paper, and they're all available and it doesn't take but a minute to make a phone call." said Leuthauser. His unit seizes hundreds of guns a year. This is gun control on the front lines, where whatever happens in Washington seems to make little difference.
"There are so many guns out there," he says. The gang unit confiscated two more guns today -- acting on gun control as Washington keeps arguing.