Pomona Man Convicted Of Plans For 'Violent Jihad' Sentenced To Prison

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — One of two Southland men who planned to commit "violent jihad" against U.S. troops by joining terrorist groups in Afghanistan was sentenced Monday by a federal judge in Riverside to 25 years in prison.

Pomona resident Sohiel Omar Kabir, 36, was convicted last September on two counts of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and one count each of conspiring to kill American troops and conspiring to receive military training
from al-Qaida.

Ralph Kenneth DeLeon, 25, of Ontario, was found guilty of conspiring to provide material support to
terrorists, conspiring to murder or maim members of the armed services overseas, and conspiring to kill employees of the United States.

DeLeon was expected to be sentenced Monday afternoon.

According to court documents, Kabir converted DeLeon and another defendant, Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales, to Islam and encouraged them to travel overseas "to engage in violent jihad."

"Kabir ... encouraged the group to join him in Afghanistan, including by telling them about his connections to the Taliban and al-Qaida, discussing his physical preparations for fighting and warfare, and various `missions' and operations he was asked by terrorists to participate in," according to the prosecution's brief.