SB Terrorist Co-Conspirator Seeks to Withdraw Guilty Plea

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A confidant of the man who joined his wife in carrying out the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino informed a federal judge Friday that he wishes to withdraw admissions he made under a plea agreement two years ago, potentially setting the stage for a future trial, depending on what the judge decides.

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 San Bernardino.

The defendant 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."

According to prosecutors, Marquez was a close associate of 28-year-old Sayeed 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. Both 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.

The defendant had moved to Riverside and met Farook, his next-door neighbor, in 2005. 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 Riverside (91) Freeway 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 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 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.

— By City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone