Long Beach man pleads guilty to sending money to ISIS, possessing homemade bomb
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A Long Beach man pleaded guilty Tuesday to sending payments to suspected members of ISIS and for illegally posessing a homemade bomb, according to authorities.Mark Lorenzo Villanueva, 29, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a U.S.
Attorney’s Office Central District of California news release.Villanueva has been in custody since August.
According to his plea agreement, Villanueva began messaging a person claiming to be an ISIS fighter living in Syria since February.The person told Villanueva how to send money to him overseas.Villanueva allegedly sent more than $1,600 knowing it would be spent on ammunition, weapons, and other supplies, authorities said.
Villanueva also discussed conducting ISIS operations in the U.S.Law enforcement searched Villanueva’s home in August and found a homemade bomb with large amounts of ball bearings and other objects, including nails, screws, and nuts, according to the release.
The device was not federally registered as required by law.At the time Villanueva had the bomb, he had been convicted of felony stalking in September 2017 and was prohibited from possessing any firearm, according to the release.Villanueva is scheduled to be sentenced June 17 and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for trying to provide material support to a federal terrorist organization, and up to 15 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the release.
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Follow UsSummer Lin is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times.She previously covered breaking news for the Mercury News and national politics and California courts for McClatchy’s publicati...