UPDATE: 2 of 3 friends of Boston Marathon bomber Tsarnaev arraigned. Charges: impeding terror investigation; -Plead: not guilty – @lilsarg
Alleged Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s three friends will be arraigned in court today in Boston for their part in tampering with evidence of the suspect’s involvement in the April 15 explosions and lying about it. Dias Kadyrbayev, Azamat Tazhayakov, and Robel Phillipos will be at Moakley Federal courthouse in South Boston around 11am ET upon which they’ll enter a plea agreement in response to the charges brought against them.
The three stand accused of entering Tsarnaev’s University of Massachusetts Dartmouth dorm room and removing possible evidence linking him to the bombings. A laptop, backpack, and fireworks were all found in a New Bedford, MA landfill. Phillipos, who did not participate in the evidence disposal, was found to have lied about knowledge of such and was subsequently indicted back in August.
The formal charges brought against them are of lying to investigators and conspiring to obstruct justice.
If convicted, Phillipos faces a maximum of eight years in prison for each charge brought against him totaling 16 yearswhile Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov face up to twenty years each in federal prison for their respective charges.
Tsarnaev stands accused of detonating two pressure cooker bombs near the finish line on Boston’s Bolyston Street during the 2013 Boston Marathon along with his now-deceased brother Tamerlan. The two evaded authorities for multiple days following the chaos, only to reemerge after murdering MIT police officer Sean Collier and engaging in a shootout on the streets of nearby Watertown, MA with police. It was during this time that Tamerlan was shot dead and run over by Dzhokhar “Jahar” during the getaway.
Jahar was then found and pulled from hiding in a dry-docked boat just mere blocks outside the radius established by a coalition of local, state, and federal authorities.
He stands accused of 30 counts, to all of which he has plead not guilty, including the use of weapons of mass destruction.
Tsarnaev is due in court again on September 23 at 10 a.m ET.
