Robel Phillipos & Boston Bomber News: Accused Bomber's Friend Wants Trial Moved Outside of Boston
A man who is a friend of the accused Boston Marathon bomber and is facing charges of lying to prosecutors has asked a judge to move the trial to a venue outside of Boston.
Robel Phillipos will appear in court Tuesday for the final hearing ahead of his trial, which is set to start on Sept. 29, according to a Reuters report.
Phillipos is one of three students who were friends with bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and allegedly went to Tsarnaev's dorm room three days after the Boston Marathon bombing and removed items, including a laptop and a backpack.
The two other men have been found guilty of obstruction of justice, while Phillipos faces the lesser charge of lying to investigators. Phillipos could face up to 16 years in prison if found guilty.
Phillipos' attorneys on Monday asked a U.S. District Court judge to move the trial away from Boston, claiming that it would be hard to find an impartial jury because of all the media coverage of the bombing and subsequent events.
The April 15, 2013 bombing happened near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 260 people. The bombing set off a manhunt in Boston.
Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan -- also alleged to be responsible for the bombing -- are suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer, a carjacking and starting a shootout in the Boston suburb of Watertown, in which Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev fled and was later found hiding in a residential area in Boston.
Phillipos is not accused of playing any role in the bombing, only of making false statements to investigators.
"Mr. Phillipos deserves an unfettered and unbiased jury. Without a change of venue, the defendant cannot receive such a jury under the unique circumstances of this case," the court filing said, according to the Boston Globe.
This is Phillipos' second motion for a change of venue.
Tsarnaev's trial is set to start in November and he faces the possibility of execution if found guilty of the bombing and killing the MIT police officer.
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