Long Beach man agrees to plead guilty to charges that he built bomb, sought to aid ISIS terrorists

A Long Beach man has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges alleging he sent payments to ISIS and possessed a homemade bomb inside his home, according to court papers obtained today.

Mark Villanueva, 29, will enter his plea on Jan. 26 in downtown Los Angeles to one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm — namely the homemade bomb, his plea agreement states.

If his plea is accepted, Villanueva, a lawful permanent resident from the Philippines, would face up to 35 years imprisonment, prosecutors said.

According to papers filed in L.A. federal court, Villanueva communicated via social media with two people who described themselves as fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. In the messages, Villanueva discussed his desire to support the terrorist organization and offered to send money to the ISIS fighters to support their activities, prosecutors contend.

Read more: Long Beach Post