By Alex Dobuzinskis
LOS ANGELES, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Three men accused of
plotting to join up with al Qaeda and Taliban militants for
training in Afghanistan were indicted on Wednesday in California
in a move that could allow prosecutors to move to trial more
quickly.
But the four-page indictment, returned by a grand jury in
Riverside, offered few details beyond those contained in a
criminal complaint filed earlier this month against the men, all
U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
The indictment charged Ralph Kenneth Deleon, 23, Miguel
Alejandro Vidriales Santana, 21, and Arifeen David Gojali, 21,
with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, the
same charge contained in the complaint.
The filing of the indictment allows federal prosecutors to
skip a preliminary hearing in which they would lay out their
case and a judge would determine if there was enough evidence to
merit a trial. The men each face up to 15 years in prison if
convicted.
The three men had lived in Southern California's Inland
Empire, east of Los Angeles, before their arrest on Nov. 16, two
days before they had planned to fly to Turkey via Mexico before
heading on to Afghanistan, the FBI said at the time.
The suspected ringleader, Sohiel Omar Kabir, 34, is accused
of recruiting the three men, two of whom converted to Islam
under his influence. Kabir was apprehended this month in
Afghanistan, but was not listed in Wednesday's indictment.
Kabir, who was charged in the previously filed criminal
complaint, is still being held in Afghanistan, said Laura
Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI. She declined to comment
further on the case.
Deleon and Santana, in conversations relayed or recorded by
an unidentified paid FBI informant, spoke about traveling to
Afghanistan to join Kabir and engage in "violent jihad,"
according to the criminal complaint. It said they described
potential targets for attacks, including U.S. military bases.
Together with Gojali, they also visited a Los Angeles firing
range and a paint-ball facility for shooting practice to prepare
for further militant training overseas, the FBI has said.
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