BOSTON (AP) Two friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have already been convicted of impeding the investigation into the deadly attack. Next week, a third friend will go on trial for allegedly lying to authorities investigating the bombing.
Robel Phillipos is charged with making false statements while he was questioned about his movements on the night of April 18, 2013, three days after the bombings and hours after the FBI released photos of Tsarnaev and his brother as suspects in the attack. Authorities say the brothers placed two pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line of the race, killing three people and injuring more than 260.
Prosecutors allege that Phillipos, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, lied about being in Tsarnaev's dorm room while two other friends Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev removed a laptop and a backpack containing fireworks that had been emptied of their explosive powder. Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were both convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev are both natives of Kazakhstan.
Phillipos is accused of giving conflicting stories during interviews with the FBI. He initially said he did not remember going to the room that night, but later said he, Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov knocked on the dorm room door that night, but left when no one answered.
Gerry Leone, a former state and federal prosecutor, said it will be important for both prosecutors and the defense team to put the statements Phillipos made in context.