Marquez indicted in San Bernardino terrorist attack

December 31, 2015

A longtime friend of Sayed Rizwan Farook, the male shooter in the San Bernardino terrorist attack, was named Wednesday  in a federal grand jury indictment that charges him with conspiring with Farook in 2011 and 2012 to provide material support to terrorists.

Enrique Marquez Jr., a 24-year-old Riverside resident, was charged today with two counts of making a false statement in relation to the purchase of two assault rifles that were used in the deadly shooting at the Inland Regional Center (IRC) on December 2. The five-count indictment also charges Marquez with marriage fraud and making a false statement on immigration paperwork in relation to an alleged sham marriage with a member of Farook’s family.

“This indictment demonstrates that we will hold accountable all individuals who collaborate with terrorists in executing their plans,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Defendant Marquez’s extensive plotting with Syed Rizwan Farook in 2011 and 2012, and his purchase of explosive powder and two firearms, provided the foundation for the murders that occurred this month.”

Today’s indictment charges Marquez with conspiring with Farook to provide material support and resources – including weapons, explosives and personnel – to terrorists, knowing and intending that such support was to be used in preparation for and in carrying out the use of fire or explosive to maliciously damage or destroy any institution or organization receiving federal financial assistance and property used in interstate or foreign commerce or in any activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce.

In addition to the conspiracy count, Marquez is charged with two counts of making a false statement when purchasing two assault rifles for Farook – a Smith and Wesson, model M&P-15 Sport, 5.56-caliber rifle that was bought on November 14, 2001, and a DPMS, model A-15, 5.56-caliber rifle that was bought on February 22, 2012 – which, according to an affidavit previously filed in this case, were used in the December 2 attack on the IRC that killed 14 people and wounded 22 others.

The final two counts in the indictment allege that Marquez entered into a sham marriage with a member of Farook’s family in Nov. 2014 and that on July 17, 2015, he signed an immigration form, under penalty of perjury, that he was living with the purported spouse in Corona, when he was not actually living there.

The charge of providing material support to terrorists carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison. The charges of making a false statement in connection with acquisition of firearms each carry a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. The marriage fraud count carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, and the charge of making a false statement on immigration paperwork carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Today’s indictment in the result of an ongoing investigation that is being conducted by several members of the Inland Empire Joint Terrorism Task Force, including agents and detectives from the FBI, the San Bernardino Police Department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, ATF, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Ontario Police Department and the Riverside Police Department.

“Mr. Marquez is charged for his role in a conspiracy several years ago to target innocent civilians in our own backyard with cold-blooded terror attacks, and with providing weapons to an individual whose endgame was murder,” said David Bowdich, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “The covert nature of the defendant’s alleged actions is a stark reminder of the challenges we face in preventing attacks planned in the name of violent jihad, and underscores the critical need for those with knowledge about terror plots to come forward.”