Enrique Marquez, the friend of terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook, was arrested Thursday and charged with conspiring to give material support to a terrorist plot, according to federal charges that allege the two men planned to attack Riverside City College and a busy freeway during rush hour.
The 24-year-old Riverside resident once lived next door to Farook and purchased two of the semiautomatic rifles that Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, used inthe attack that killed 14 people.
The three-count criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California accuses Marquez of conspiring to provide material support – including personnel, firearms and explosives – to terrorists in 2011 and 2012 and with making a false statement in connection with acquisition of firearms. It also accused him of immigration fraud relating to his marriage to a Russian immigrant.
Although he is accused of providing the two rifles to Farook and Malik, the charges do not allege that Marquez had any advance knowledge of the Dec. 2 attack in San Bernardino that killed 14 people.
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According to a lengthy affidavit from the FBI’s lead investigator on the case, Marquez and Farook began planning in 2011 to use firearms and explosives to carry out terrorist acts designed to maximize the number of casualties.
In a recent interview with federal agents, Marquez admitted making plans with Farook to attack the library or cafeteria at Riverside City College, where both men had been students. The plan allegedly was to throw pipe bombs into the cafeteria area from an elevated position on the second floor, and then to shoot people as they fled.
The two also planned to attack eastbound lanes of the 91 freeway during the afternoon rush hour, according to the affidavit by FBI special agent Joel T. Anderson.
Marquez told investigators that they chose a particular section of the freeway because there were no exits, which would increase the number of targets in the eastbound lanes. The plan was for Farook to throw pipe bombs onto the freeway, which they believed would disable vehicles and stop traffic. Farook allegedly planned to then move among stopped vehicles, shooting into them, while Marquez shot into vehicles from a position on a nearby hillside.
Marquez allegedly said that he would watch for law enforcement and emergency vehicles, and his priority was to shoot police officers before shooting other first responders.
The two men took steps to carry out their plans by purchasing firearms, ammunition and other tactical gear, as well as going to local firing ranges, the court documents allege.
According to people who knew the two men, Marquez worked as a security guard at Wal-Mart and was known for his shy demeanor. A cycling enthusiast, he dreamed of joining the Navy and had recently been attempting to lose weight to prepare for the rigors of boot camp. His large glasses distinguished him, as did the bicycle helmet he frequently wore.
Impressionable and mild-mannered, he was the type of guy who "couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag," according to the owner of a Riverside bar where Marquez checked IDs at the door and lined up rides home for patrons.
Document: Read the criminal complaint against Enrique Marquez
"Enrique wasn't a violent kid. He wasn't a tough guy. ... That's what's spooky about it," said Jerry Morgan, who runs Morgan's Tavern and has known Marquez for four years.
"People felt comfortable around him."
Marquez appeared to have been greatly influenced by Farook.
According to the affidavit, the two met a decade ago when Marquez moved to Riverside. Farook introduced Marquez, his next-door neighbor, to Islam, and, in 2007, Marquez converted. Farook later introduced Marquez to radical Islamic ideology, which included expressing disdain towards Muslims in the U.S. military who killed other Muslims, as well as discussing the extremist views of the now-deceased imam and Islamic lecturer Anwar Awlaki.
Over the next few years, Farook provided Marquez with radical Islamic materials, and by 2011, Marquez spent most of his time at Farook’s residence listening to lectures and watching videos involving radical Islamic content, the affidavit alleges. Those materials included Inspire Magazine, the official publication of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and videos produced by the al Shabaab militant group, based in Somalia.
In August 2011, Farook told Marquez of his interest in joining al Qaeda in Yemen, the affidavit says.
About four or five years ago, Marquez began attending prayers at the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco, according to Yousuf Bhaghani, president of the facility's board of directors.
Bhaghani said Marquez was not a regular but stuck out because of his Latino background. He was remembered as "a decent guy who came to pray, nothing that could raise any flags."
Marquez legally purchased the two firearms in 2011 and 2012, around the same time that Farook had allegedly plotted to carry out an earlier attack, according to the court documents. Farook believed that having Marquez buy the weapons "would draw less attention to their plans" because Marquez looks Caucausian while Farook looks Middle Eastern, the documents said.
FBI agents believe Farook scrapped the plan after three men were arrested in the Inland Empire for plotting to kill Americans in Afghanistan, according to a government official briefed on the matter. There was no record of any transfer of the weapons from Marquez to Farook and Malik.
Full coverage: San Bernardino terror attack
Still, Ramirez said Marquez never spoke of other friends. His Facebook page, while dotted with photos of himself grinning, included melancholy posts. "He was more of an in-the-moment person," she said.
Marquez withdrew from the college after the 2011 winter term.
After the shooting, Ramirez reached out to Marquez, but did not hear back. She believes her friend would not have helped Farook and Malik if he had known the couple's scheme.
"He's never done anything mean," she said. "A lot of newspapers call me and want me to talk bad about him. He is a really good person."
Farook, 28, and Malik, 29, left Marquez's neighborhood in May and moved to Redlands.
They were killed in a shoot-out with police several hours after they opened fire on a holiday party filled with Farook's co-workers.
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