Man who supplied rifles, explosives to San Bernardino shooter asks to delay trial

The man accused of supplying rifles and explosives used in the San Beardino terrorist shooting is asking for an eight-month delay of his trial.

The U.S. Attoey’s Office with agreement of the defense counsel for Enrique Marquez Jr. are seeking to move the trial from July 2016 to March 2017 because of the amount of evidence to review and attoey trial commitments.

The two sides have agreed but it will be up to the assigned U.S. District Court Judge Jesus G. Beal to decide whether to change the dates.

The Friday court filing in the case comes a day after three family members with ties to the slain San Beardino shooters — Syed Raheel Farook and Tatiana Farook, both 31, of Corona, and Cheykh, 26, of Ontario — were charged in a new federal indictment with conspiring to set up a sham marriage and making false statements in immigration legal documents.

The latter allegations surfaced in December as the FBI and local law enforcement began investigating the killings of 14 people and wounding of 22 others at the Inland Regional Center in San Beardino.

A federal prosecutor has said Marquez, 24, did not participate in nor was he aware of the San Beardino attack.

He is accused of supplying rifles and explosive powder used in the attack. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, two counts of lying on federal forms for gun purchases and two counts of marriage fraud. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in January. He faces up to 50 years in federal prison if convicted of the charges.

Farook’s brother, Syed Rizwan Farook, was one of the San Beardino shooters with his wife, Tashfeen Malik. The couple was killed in a shootout with police.

The attoeys propose continuing the status conference and motions hearing date from June 27 to March 6, 2017, and the trial date from July 19 to March 21, 2017.

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