Four men have been convicted of plotting to become Jihadis and kill Americans. Their story begins in a quiet Los Angeles suburb.
The ringleader of what authorities described as plan to become terrorists started with Sohiel Omar Kabir, who until 2011 lived in Pomona, about 30 miles east of LA. Kabir, now 36, is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Afghanistan, according to the Department of Justice. He also served in the U.S. Air Force from 2000 to 2001, the Associated Press reported.
In 2010, Kabir introduced two other men to radical Islam and suggested they could join Al-Qa’ida and the Taliban.
According to the Department of Justice, Kabir reached out to Ralph Deleon and Miguel Santana Vidriales, who lived in southern California at the time. Court documents reveal that Deleon described Kabir as "basically a mujahid walking the streets of LA."
By 2012, Kabir was back in Afghanistan and telling Deleon and Santana to join him. He reportedly claimed to have made contact with terror organizations and that once the other men arrived they would could join "the students" and "the professors," which meant the Taliban and Al-Qa'ida, respectively, the DOJ reported.
Deleon and Santana later told an FBI source they wanted to engage in “violent jihad."
The two men met with the FBI source in February 2012, at which time they talked about radical Islam and wanting to attack U.S. military personnel, according to the DOJ. Santana also said he wanted to be a sniper, while Deleon expressed an interest in explosives.
In September 2012, the two men recruited a fourth member into the plot: Arifeen David Gojali.
Gojali, left, and Deleon, right.
The three recruits trained for life as terrorists by going to southern California paintball courses.
Deleon, Santana, and Gojali all made plans to join Kabir in Afghanistan, where they would engage in violent jihad, the DOJ reported. To prepare, they trained a firearms and paintball facilities near their homes in California.
Police arrested the three recruits in November 2012 at a southern California apartment as they were preparing to leave for Afghanistan. American military personnel captured Kabir.
The three men planned to drive to Mexico, then fly overseas and eventually reach Afghanistan to join Kabir. Before they could leave, however, law enforcement arrested them at an apartment in Chino, a city about 35 miles from L.A. They were taken into custody on Nov. 16, 2012. U.S. military personnel picked up Kabir in Afghanistan.
A federal jury convicted Kabir and Deleon Thursday. Santana and Gojali previously pleaded guilty.
The jury convicted both men of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, and to kill members of the U.S. government. It also found Kabir guilty of conspiring to provide support to and receive military-type training from Al-Qa'ida. The jury further convicted Deleon of conspiring to commit murder, kidnapping, or maiming oversees, according to the DOJ.
Both men face potential life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.
Santana and Gojali pleaded guilty and have not yet been sentenced, the DOJ reported Thursday.