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Friend Accused of Supplying Rifles to San Bernardino Terrorists Pleads Guilty

Enrique Marquez enters a guilty plea in federal court in downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 16, 2017. (Credit: Mona S. Edwards)

The man who purchased two rifles used in the 2015 San Bernardino terror attacks pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and making false statements in connection with the purchase of a firearm.

Enrique Marquez enters a guilty plea in federal court in downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 16, 2017. (Credit: Mona S. Edwards)

Enrique Marquez Jr., a close friend of gunman Syed Rizwan Farook, was not accused of taking part in or having advanced knowledge of the shootings but quickly emerged as a central figure in the sprawling investigation after the Dec. 2, 2015, attack at the Inland Regional Center.

Marquez, who admitted purchasing weapons years earlier for Farook, was the only person formally charged in connection with the shootings.

Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, died in a gun battle with police hours after the assault, which left 14 dead and 22 wounded. At the time, the death toll was the highest in a terrorist attack in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, though the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., claimed 49 lives just seven months later.

Click here to read the full story on LATimes.com. 

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