May 07--A federal judge this week pushed back until March 21 the trial date for Enrique Marquez Jr., the man charged with buying the rifles used in the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
Attorneys for Marquez had sought the delay, arguing that the original July 19 trial date would not allow enough time to adequately prepare, given the government's voluminous evidence in the case.
U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal granted the request, ruling in part that "the ends of justice served by the continuance outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial."
Marquez was indicted in December on charges of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, lying about the rifle purchases, marriage fraud and lying on a visa application. He has pleaded not guilty.
Marquez was at work during the Dec. 2 attack in which Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, massacred 14 people before police killed the couple in a shootout, prosecutors have said in court filings.
He is accused of plotting with Farook in 2011 and 2012 to carry out attacks at Riverside City College and on the 91 Freeway. Prosecutors allege that Marquez bought two rifles for Farook as they prepared for those attacks, which they never carried out.
kim.christensen@latimes.com
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