HOUSTON — A Houston man who was 18 when he was arrested on terrorism charges will spend another 13 years in federal prison and then be supervised for the rest of his life.
Kaan Damlarkaya, now 23, was arrested in December 2017, after the feds said he wanted to join ISIS and was ready to kill Americans for them and die for them.
“Damlarkaya wanted to kill in the name of ISIS,” U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said. “He slept with a machete by his bed, ready to use on law enforcement, provided instructions on how to make a bomb to ISIS supporters, and prepared to travel overseas and become a martyr for our enemies."
The U.S. citizen who was born in Houston pleaded guilty in 2019 and had been in custody since his arrest. He was sentenced Thursday in a federal courtroom in Houston.
"Today’s sentence ensures that Damlarkaya will spend many many years away from machetes and explosives, making everyone in the Southern District of Texas a lot safer," Hamdani said.
FBI agents arrested Damlarkaya after uncovering evidence that he was plotting to travel overseas to fight for ISIS in Syria or Afghanistan. If that didn't work out, he planned to attack non-Muslims in the U.S.," the FBI said.
“Fortunately, for us and the public, Damlarkaya was stopped before he was able to carry out his terrorism plan," FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge James Smith said. "He dreamed of being a martyr. The reality is that he’s now a federal prisoner and will be one for years to come."
WATCH: 2017 report on the arrest
Neighbors were shocked when they learned Damlarkaya had been arrested.
"It's kind of shocking to hear a teenage boy would want to harm other people like that, but it's a sign of the times," Johnathan Scott told us.
Back then, Damlarkaya lived with his parents and brother in the Briar Forest area.
"The boys are sharp, both of them are, he's the most laid-back one," Edward Hood, their next-door neighbor, said in 2017.
Hood saw no signs of the troubled teen described in federal court documents.
"When they were able to go to college, they were 14 or something like that, they were too young to go, they had to wait a year or so before they could get in," Hood said.
The FBI said Damlarkaya's desire to carry out an attack began back in 2014 when he was just 15.