Three college classmates of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were arrested and charged Wednesday in connection with the investigation.
From the FBI’s official press release:
Dias Kadyrbayev, 19, and Azamat Tazhayakov, 19, both of New Bedford, were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to obstruct justice by conspiring to destroy, conceal, and cover up tangible objects belonging to suspected marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, namely a laptop computer and backpack containing fireworks. A third man, Robel Phillipos, 19, of Cambridge, was charged with willfully making materially false statements to federal law enforcement officials during a terrorism investigation. According to the affidavit accompanying the complaint, Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov are both nationals of Kazakhstan who entered the United States on student visas. Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and $250,000 fine. Phillipos faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Court documents allege that the three men removed items from Tsarnaev’s dormitory room three days after the Boston bombings. While in the room, they had noticed a backpack containing fireworks that had been opened and emptied of powder and concluded that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev must have been involved in the attack. They decided to remove the backpack – as well as a laptop and a jar of Vaseline that they feared was used “to make bombs” – to help Tsarnaev “avoid trouble.” Once the Tsarnaev brothers were officially identified to the public by name, confirming their involvement in the attack, two of the three classmates of Dzhokhar’s then put the items into a large trash bag and threw the bag into a nearby dumpster.
You can read the full criminal complaints below.
Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov Complaint (pdf)
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY