Friend who supplied rifles to San Bernardino terrorists wants to withdraw guilty plea

The man who supplied the weapons used to kill 14 people and wound 23 others in the December 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack told a federal judge Friday, Jan. 25, that he wishes to withdraw admissions he made under a plea agreement two years ago, potentially setting the stage for a trial.

Riverside resident Enrique Marquez Jr., 27, pleaded guilty in February 2017 to one count each of providing material support to terrorists and making false statements in the acquisition of firearms. In exchange for his admissions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office dropped related charges of marriage fraud, immigration visa fraud and lying on a federal document.

Marquez appeared with his attorney, John Aquilina, at the U.S. District Court in downtown Riverside, and during the status hearing, Aquilina told Judge Jesus Bernal that the defense will seek to have the plea agreement voided.

Aquilina told City News Service the reasons for the proposed action will be established in a motion he will submit to the court in May.

Federal prosecutors are expected to challenge the motion.

Marquez is being held without bail in a federal detention center in Los Angeles.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said Friday that his agency had no immediate comment on Marquez’s request. He said Bernal told the defense that it must submit its motion by May 13. After that, the government will respond, and a hearing on the motion will be held.

Mrozek said he could not comment on whether prosecutors would attempt to reinstate the dropped charges until after Bernal holds that hearing.

Marquez had been slated for sentencing on multiple dates in 2017 and 2018. However, after changing attorneys, his sentencing was tabled last summer for an indeterminate period.

“This defendant collaborated with and purchased weapons for a man who carried out the devastating December 2, 2015, terrorist attack that took the lives of 14 innocent people, wounded nearly two dozen and impacted our entire nation,” then-U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker said in February 2017. “While his earlier plans to attack a school and a freeway were not executed, the planning clearly laid the foundation for the 2015 attack on the Inland Regional Center.”

Reliving a nightmare

Ryan Reyes-Kaufman, who was engaged to be married before boyfriend Larry Daniel Kaufman was killed in the attack, said Friday that he was extremely upset that victims and survivors might have to sit through a trial after believing the case was wrapped up except for the sentencing.

“We are already all dealing with this and now we are going to have to relive it all over again,” Reyes-Kaufman said. “Especially since it’s three years later; it’s ridiculous. We are trying to get on with our lives and it seems like our system is fighting against us.”

Specifically, Reyes-Kaufman blamed Bernal.

“This judge allowed him to do so many extensions on his sentencing because they needed quote-unquote more time to prepare for the sentencing. That opened up the whole thing to where he was able to get rid of one attorney and get a new attorney who said ‘Let’s get rid of this guilty plea,’ ” he said.

Arlen Verdehyou’s wife, Bennetta Betbadal, died in the shooting. He said he understands that Marquez has a right to withdraw his plea until his sentencing.

“I was looking forward to it finishing up after three years of court, going back and forth, but if that’s what his decision is, you have to accept it and deal with it.”

Alleged straw buyer

According to prosecutors, Marquez was a close associate of 28-year-old Syed Rizwan Farook, who teamed with his wife, 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik, to perpetrate the rampage at the IRC during an employee Christmas party. The pair had pledged loyalty to ISIS. Farook and Malik, residents of Redlands, died a few hours later in a gunbattle with police.

Marquez stated on a federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form that he was the actual buyer of the two high-capacity semiautomatic rifles with which Farook and Malik armed themselves. But those weapons were actually purchased for Farook, prosecutors say.

Marquez, 27, had moved to Riverside and met Farook, his next-door neighbor, in 2005. Both attended La Sierra High. Under the future jihadi terrorist’s sway, Marquez converted to Islam, after which he adopted a radical philosophy, and by late 2011, the two were preparing to commit terrorist attacks, according to court papers.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Marquez admitted making plans with Farook to commit mass murder at the library or cafeteria of Riverside City College. The men also schemed to go on a killing spree along the eastbound 91 Freeway in Riverside during afternoon rush-hour, identifying a particular section of roadway that had no exits, according to the FBI.

The defendant backed out of the terrorist plots in November 2012, after the arrests of four Inland Empire men who were gearing up to join the Taliban in Afghanistan. All four were eventually convicted and sentenced to between 10 and 25 years in prison.

Marquez also engaged in a sham marriage with a Russian immigrant, who is the sister-in-law of 33-year-old Syed Raheel Farook, the terrorist’s elder sibling.

Mariya Chernykh, 28, and Marquez went all-out to make their fake nuptials appear legitimate, taking staged family photos, creating a joint checking account and a back-dated lease that implied they shared a marital residence, enabling her to remain in the country and collect benefits, according to court papers.

Marquez and Chernykh signed immigration documents, under penalty of perjury, falsely stating that they both lived at the same Riverside address, prosecutors said.

However, Chernykh eventually moved in with another man in Ontario, while Marquez received money from her as part of the arrangement.

Chernykh ultimately admitted charges of conspiracy, perjury and making false statements to federal officials. She’s free on bond and is slated to be sentenced on May 20.

In a separate plea agreement, Syed Raheel Farook admitted a conspiracy charge. He’s also free on bond and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25. His wife, 34-year-old Tatiana Farook, Chernykh’s sister, admitted a conspiracy count, as well, and is set for sentencing on April 15.

Farook and his wife are each facing five years behind bars. Chernykh is facing up to 20 years. However, none are expected to receive the maximum sentences.

Mrozek, the government spokesman, said he couldn’t speak Friday to how Marquez’s attempt to withdraw his plea could affect the sentencings of the Farooks and Chernykh. It’s also unclear how this would affect the resolution of the case of Rafia Farook, who is attempting to collect on Rizwan Farook’s life insurance policy. The govenment is trying to seize that money, calling it the fruit of the terrorist attack.