Judge: Alleged Terrorist Co-Conspirator Poses 'Danger to Community'

By PAUL J. YOUNG, City News Service:

RIVERSIDE, CA- A Riverside man accused of purchasing rifles and explosive materials used by the husband-wife team who massacred 14 people in the Dec. 2 terrorist attack in San Bernardino “continues to pose a danger” to society and must remain jailed without bail, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Enrique Marquez Jr., 24, is charged with three felonies stemming from his ties to Syed Farook, mastermind of the shooting rampage at the Inland Regional Center.

Marquez appeared this morning before Riverside-based U.S. District Judge David Bristow, who heard arguments from the prosecution and defense regarding whether the court should consider allowing the defendant’s family to post a property bond enabling his release.

“Even if he didn’t do anything active ... he formed the ideas,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Grigg told the court.

Grigg argued that Marquez now had a “strong incentive to flee” with a potential life sentence awaiting him if he’s convicted of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, making false statements in the acquisition of firearms and fraudulent procurement of an immigration visa -- along with sentence enhancements that the prosecutor said would be appended to the original criminal complaint.

He acknowledged that Marquez cooperated with the FBI shortly after the killings, but not before he had driven to Los Angeles County and checked himself into Harbor UCLA Medical Center, claiming suicidal impulses.

“His instinct was not to reach out to law enforcement first,” Grigg said.

Deputy Federal Public Defender Young Kim countered that his client “could have left (the country) but didn’t.”

The attorney said Marquez was willing to remain with his family under “supervised release,” and Bristow agreed that Marquez’s desire to flee would undoubtedly be dampened by the risk of his family losing their home.

“Other factors are of grave concern to this court,” the judge said. “Mr. Marquez actively conspired with Mr. Farook to participate in a terrorist act against this nation, in the city of Riverside.”

Bristow cited investigators’ reports that the defendant bought the semi- automatic rifles, as well as ingredients for an “improvised explosive device” recovered at the Inland Regional Center.

“The actual acts planned by Mr. Marquez never came to transpire, fortunately,” the judge said. “But I believe he continues to pose a danger to the community, notwithstanding the fact that his co-conspirator is deceased.”

Bristow asked the defendant whether he had anything to say, and Marquez answered “no.” He remains in federal custody in San Bernardino.

A preliminary hearing in his case is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 4 at 4:30 p.m.

Marquez was arrested Thursday by FBI agents. According to court papers, he and Farook plotted in 2011 to carry out attacks at Riverside City College and the Riverside (91) Freeway, neither of which went past the planning stage.

Federal authorities allege that in 2011 and 2012, Marquez purchased the two illegally modified AR-15-style rifles used in the mass shooting, which the government describes in court documents as an Islamist-motivated act of terrorism. In addition to the 14 killed, 22 were wounded.

According to prosecutors, Marquez moved to Riverside and met Farook, his next-door neighbor, in 2005. Under Farook’s sway, Marquez converted to Islam in 2007, after which he adopted a radical philosophy, and by late 2011, the pair were preparing to perpetrate terrorist attacks, prosecutors said.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Marquez admitted making plans with Farook to commit mass murder at the library or cafeteria of RCC, where both attended. They allegedly planned to throw pipe bombs into the cafeteria from a second floor terrace, then open fire on people as they tried to run.

The pair also schemed to go on a killing spree on the eastbound Riverside (91) Freeway during afternoon rush-hour, identifying a particular section of roadway that would afford motorists no means of escape. Investigators allege Farook intended to toss pipe bombs onto the road to halt traffic, providing sitting targets, while Marquez watched from a high perch, shooting at first responders as they arrived.

The defendant apparently backed out of the terrorist plots after the arrests in 2012 of four men who were gearing up to join the Taliban in Afghanistan. Two of the four -- Ralph Kenneth DeLeon and Sohiel Omar Kabir -- were convicted in 2014 of conspiring to kill American troops overseas.

The other two defendants, Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales and Arifeen David Gojali, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges. All were sentenced to between 10 and 25 years in federal prison earlier this year by U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips in Riverside.

Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, were fatally shot in a gun battle with police hours after the Dec. 2 rampage.

Farook brought Malik to the United States in 2014 on a fiance visa. FBI Director James Comey said the couple had been “radicalized” long before the shooting, even prior to being married.

Farook was an employee of the San Bernardino County Public Health Department, and he had attended a department holiday party at the IRC the morning of the shooting, but left and returned to kill.

A Facebook account associated with Malik was used to search for materials related to the ISIS terrorist group, and shortly after the massacre, she posted on Facebook: “We pledge allegiance to Khalifa bu bkr al bhaghdadi al quraishi.” That’s a reference to the leader of Islamic State, authorities said.

The immigration fraud count against Marquez stems from his alleged “sham” marriage to a member of Farook’s extended family, permitting her to obtain U.S. residency, for which Marquez was paid $200 a month.

Marquez’s wife’s sister is married to Farook’s older brother.