Boston Marthon Bombing Update: Friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Convicted of Lying to Federal Agents
A friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted Tuesday on two counts of lying to federal agents investigating the 2013 terrorist attack.
Robel Phillipos, one of Tsarnaev's high school friends, was found guilty of lying about being in Tsarnaev's dorm room at the University of Dartmouth, which they both attended.
Prosecutors argued that the 21-year-old Boston native also witnessed Tsarnaev's two friends removing potential evidence from the room, including a backpack containing fireworks three days after the bombing, reports Yahoo! News.
Phillipos, who faces up to 16 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, will be sentenced on Jan. 29.
After the verdict, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz stated, "[Phillipos] lied to agents when he could have helped. He concealed when he could have assisted. It is a crime to lie to law enforcement agents, and that is why Robel Phillipos was charged and why the jury found him guilty today. But this case also reminds us that our public safety network relies on every citizen in the commonwealth," reports CNN.
FBI agents testified that Phillipos told them nine different lies about the night of April 18, 2013, before he eventually confessed that he had been in Tsarnaev's dorm room.
However, defense lawyers argued that Phillipos was a "frightened and confused 19-year-old" at the time when he was interrogated following the April 15, 2013, bombing, which killed three people and wounded over 260 others.
"I don't believe that Robel Phillipos has ever been more angry at a person than he was at Dzhokhar Tsarnaev when Robel found out that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did what he did in this case," Church told reporters on Tuesday. "He was absolutely mortified. It was an unbelievable feeling of shock and betrayal that somebody that he knew could commit such atrocious and horrible acts."
Phillipos' attorneys announced they will appeal the verdict.
Phillipos is currently free on bail and will remain under house arrest until his sentencing trial next year.
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