The charges could be filed as early as Thursday.
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Chernykh appeared to be living with her sister and Farook’s brother at their home in Corona, according to a neighbor. He is being held without bail at a detention centre in Riverside, California, the Washington Post reports, with his first hearing scheduled for 21 January.
President Barack Obama said he was briefed on the investigation Thursday and reiterated the federal government’s commitment to find answers to all the unknowns in the case. But officials said the conference center where the terrorist attack took place will be closed indefinitely. He refreshed ice sinks, manned the door, took out the trash, mopped floors, and cleaned the restrooms, as the New York Times reported.
Malik also pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Badghadi in a Facebook post as the San Bernardino attack was happening, three US officials familiar with the investigation told CNN. “Very sorry sguys. It was a pleasure”.
Marquez’s coworkers at the neighborhood, pirate-themed bar where he was employed anxious when he didn’t show the next day.
The co-workers feared that he may have become suicidal. He later checked into a mental health facility. The documents say Marquez was paid $200 a month for the arrangement.
Authorities said Farook was apparently plotting some type of terror attack in 2012, but backed out when four other people were arrested in connection with an unrelated plot. Each count against Marquez carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison.
The Justice Department says Marquez told investigators he made the purchase because he looked white, while Farook looked Middle Eastern.
It was announced on December 8 that Farook may have plotted an earlier terror attack in California with Marquez, but that it fell through when they got “spooked”, officials said.
“The f****** a****** used my gun in the shooting”, Marquez said.
Marquez, who had worked at Wal-Mart and at a bar recently, also is related to Farook’s family by marriage.
Marquez lived for many years with his family in a one-story beige house directly next to Farook. Both attended La Sierra High School in Riverside, but several years apart.
“He was a goody, goody two shoes type kid”, Morgan said. Authorities say Farook and Malik had been radicalized for several years, and their attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism. Fourteen people were killed and 22 others were injured when the couple opened fire during a holiday luncheon at the Inland Regional Center.
Authorities still are trying to learn more about whom the killers interacted with, how they hatched and carried out the plot and why. And there was an unsuccessful attempt to modify one weapon to make it shoot automatically, law enforcement officials said. Authorities believe Marquez purchased two assault rifles as a favor to Farook, who would then not have to go on record as the buyer and undergo a background check, according to NBC News. She declined to give her name.
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While Muslim tradition calls for the deceased to be buried within 24 hours of death, the two were buried almost two weeks later as their families waited for the bodies to be released by law enforcement officials and then for permission from a cemetery.
