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Friend Who Bought Guns for San Bernardino Shooter to Plead Guilty

Enrique Marquez Jr. faces up to 25 years in prison for supplying the guns used in 2015 by Siyed Rizwan Farook and his wife.
Image: Enrique Marquez
Enrique Marquez in federal court in Riverside, California, in December 2015.Bill Robles / AP

The friend accused of supplying the guns used in the 2015 attack in San Bernardino, California, has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Enrique Marquez Jr. is scheduled to plead guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Riverside to providing material support and resources to terrorists and making false statements, the U.S. attorney's office for Central California said. He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.

"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," U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said in a statement.

Related: Wife in Sham Marriage to San Bernardino Shooter's Friend Pleads Guilty

Marquez acted as a "straw buyer" to get the DPMS model A-15 and the Smith & Wesson M&P-15 Sport rifles used in the attack, which was carried out by Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik.

Prosecutors said that as part of the plea deal, Marquez admitted to plotting with Farook in 2011 and 2012 to carry out attacks on Riverside City College and traffic on California Route 91. The attacks were never carried out.

Marquez did not participate in the attack on the San Bernardino Inland Regional Center, which was holding a holiday luncheon and training session for workers of the county health department where Farook worked. Nothing in the criminal case filed against Marquez alleged that he knew about the attack.

Farook was born in the United States, and Malik, a Pakistan national, entered the United States through a visa program for foreigners engaged to U.S. citizens.