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Enrique Martinez
was a childhood friend of shooter Syed Rizwan Farook and
allegedly planned an attack with him in 2012 that was never
carried out. Citing the complexity of the case against Martinez,
U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal in Riverside, California, moved
Martinez' trial date from July 19 to March 21, 2017, court
papers show.
Marquez was arrested in December for his role in allegedly
purchasing the guns used by Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen
Malik, 29, in their Dec. 2 attack on a holiday party attended by
Farook's co-workers.
Their assault, which came a few weeks after Islamic State gunmen
and suicide bombers killed 130 people in a series of coordinated
attacks around Paris, has raised anxiety about violence
throughout the United States and changed the tone of the race
for the White House to include an emphasis on national security
issues.
Farook and Malik died in a shootout with police the day of the
attack. Marquez, then 24, was arrested two weeks later, and was
indicted for conspiracy and giving false information when
purchasing firearms. He was also charged with violating
immigration laws by entering into a sham marriage with a
relative of Farook.
In court, his public defenders have argued that Marquez was only
19 when he bought explosives and rifles later used by Malik and
Farook and had not participated in their Islamic State-inspired
attack at a party of San Bernardino county public health
workers.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California;
Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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