Man Who Bought Rifles Used In San Bernardino Terror Attack Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA/AP) — The man who bought two rifles that a husband and wife used to kill 14 people in the San Bernardino terror attack in 2015 will spend 20 years in federal prison, a judge announced Friday.
Enrique Marquez Jr., 28, supplied the rifles used by his friend Syed Rizwan Farook and Farook's wife, Tashfeen Malik, to open fire on a meeting and holiday gathering of San Bernardino County employees who worked with Farook.
After killing 14 people and wounding 22 others on Dec. 2, 2015, the couple died in a shootout with authorities.
The sentencing in federal court in Riverside came after families of the victims pleaded with a judge to give Marquez a lengthy sentence. Prosecutors had asked for a 25-year sentence and Marquez's attorney had suggested five years.
Prosecutors contend Marquez must be held responsible for his actions, which include giving semiautomatic weapons and explosives to a person he knew was inspired by violent extremists and plotting with him to kill large numbers of people.
"And the undeniable truth remains: If defendant had not illegally purchased two assault weapons for a terrorist, that terrorist and his wife would not have used those firearms to murder 14 people and wound 22 survivors," prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Marquez pleaded guilty in 2017 to conspiring with Farook to provide material support to terrorists and making false statements regarding the rifles he had purchased in his name using Farook's money.
He later tried to withdraw his plea to one of the counts, but the request was denied by the court.
(Copyright 2020 CBS Corp. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
