Friend of Boston Bombing Suspect Found Guilty of Lying to FBI
The friend of the suspect involved in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing has been found guilty of lying during the investigation of the attack.
21-year-old Robel Phillipos was found guilty on two counts of lying during a federal investigation, with each count carrying a maximum of 8 years in prison. Prosecution in Phillipos' case argued that the 21-year-old lied to investigators about events that took place in a dorm room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on the night of April 18, 2013.
Phillipos, a friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, reportedly lied to FBI agents about witnessing two men remove a backpack containing fireworks and other possible evidence from Tsarnaev's dorm room on the night of April 18.
The defense attorneys for the 21-year-old argued that Phillipos was pressured by the FBI to make a confession about his lies, and had been too inebriated on marijuana to remember the exact events of what he witnessed on the night of April 18.
According to the local WBZ-TV media outlet, jurors reportedly spent 33 hours deliberating on Phillipos' case. Following the verdict, the judge told the jurors: "It's obvious you paid very close attention to the evidence."
According to Boston.com, neither Phillipos nor any of his family members showed emotion when the 21-year-old's verdict was announced. The Cambridge native will remain under house arrest with a monitoring system until his sentencing date on January 29.
Tsarnaev, 20, is facing 30 federal charges related to a terrorist act, pleading "not guilty" to all charges. The suspect was recently granted a two-month trial delay.
