Friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect is guilty of lying to feds, could get up to 16 years
After six days of deliberation, a friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted Tuesday by a federal jury of lying to investigators.
Because the jury found that the lies related to a terrorism investigation, the maximum sentence on each of the two counts on which Robel Phillipos was convicted is eight years. Ordinarily, the maximum sentence for lying to a FBI agent is five years, the New York Times (reg. req.) reports.
Lawyers for Phillipos said they plan to appeal, because Phillipos’ statements were not material to the terrorism probe, the Associated Press reports.
At issue in the Boston case was whether Phillipos lied when he allegedly said both that he could not remember being in the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth dorm room of Tsarnaev a few days after the fatal April 2013 attack and that he had not been in Tsarnaev’s room.
At the time, two other men, Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, were removing a backpack that held a laptop computer, fireworks and other material that potentially could have been used as evidence. They were previously convicted of obstruction of justice but have not yet been sentenced, the Times reports.
Tsarnaev, who has pleaded not guilty to dozens of federal charges, awaits trial.
Phillipos is not accused either of playing a role in the bombing—which killed three and injured hundreds more—or removing evidence. His defense argued that he had used too much marijuana on the day in question to remember what happened and that he was intimidated by the FBI, according to the AP.
But that is not how the feds and the jury saw it.
“He lied to agents when he could have helped. He concealed when he could have assisted,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz in a written statement after the trial.
Former state governor Mike Dukakis, who was also the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988, testified on Phillipos’ behalf, explaining that he is a friend of the defendant’s family.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “College pals of Boston Marathon suspect face criminal charges over claimed post-bombing activities”
See also:
CNN: “Boston Marathon Terror Attack Fast Facts”
