Teenager admits he killed Briton

Monticello, Florida - A teenager accused of the fatal shooting of British tourist Gary Colley in 1993 pleaded guilty yesterday in a Florida court to a reduced charge of second-degree murder and faces a maximum 40-year prison sentence. Aundra Akins, 16, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in the September 1993 attack on Colley and his companion, Margaret Jagger, at amotorway rest-stop in north Florida.

After his plea bargain, Akins may be used as a witness in the trial of an alleged accomplice. Akins was charged with being the triggerman in the botched robbery, in which Colley died and Miss Jagger was wounded.

The killing was one of a series of attacks on tourists in 1992 and 1993 that severely tarnished Florida's image.

The plea bargain was reached less than an hour before jury selection was set to begin. Miss Jagger was present for the plea agreement.

Colley's brother, Stephen, said yesterday he would not be satisfied until Akins was behind bars for life. Speaking at his home in Bradford he said: "I didn't really want the electric chair for him anyway - I would rather he just rot in jail for ever. If he died now it would be all over for him; he doesn't deserve that.

Akins was one of four youths charged with Colley's murder and becomes the third teenager to plead to lesser charges.

The first trial of John "Billy Joe" Crumitie, 18, ended in a hung jury in November. Akins accepted a plea bargain similar to one rejected by Crumitie.

Akins faces a minimum three-year prison term for use of a weapon during a felony and a maximum of 40 years.