A
friend of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty in
federal court Tuesday of lying to investigators in a terrorism investigation. The
Boston Globe reported shortly after 10 a.m. local time Tuesday morning that
Robel Phillipos, 21, had just been convicted by jury on two counts related to
lying to investigators. According to the paper, each count carries a maximum
sentence of eight years in prison. Prosecutors
alleged that Phillipos acted untruthfully when he was interviewed by
investigators two separate times in late April 2013 in the midst of the federal
probe pertaining to the bombing that killed three people and left more than 200
injured. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, will soon be tried for his alleged role in the
event; his brother, Tamerlan, is accused of masterminding the plot, but died
during a shootout with the police days after the bombing. According to the Globe, Phillipos landed in
hot water with the authorities over the statements he made on April 20 and
April 25 when he was confronted by investigators and asked about an alleged
visit with friends to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s dorm room on April 18 — three days
after the bombing, and shortly after the FBI named the brothers as suspects. “Prosecutors said Phillipos looked on as
the friends removed a backpack allegedly holding some of Tsarnaev’s things,
including fireworks, after the Marathon bombings,” Eric Levenson reported
for the Globe. “They argued that Phillipos originally told investigators a
different version of events, but then admitted to lying in a signed confession
during his fifth interview with investigators.” Defense attorneys claimed that Phillipos was
unsure of what was alleged to occur in the Tsarnaev dorm room because he had
smoked marijuana extensively that day. “This
is a case about a kid high out of his mind, saying, ‘I don’t remember,’”
Phillipos’ lawyer, Derege S. Demissie, said early on in the case. “They’re
not saying he destroyed evidence. They’re not saying he touched evidence. He
committed no crime.”
Phillipos
is expected to be sentenced on January 29, 2015, according to the Boston
Herald.
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