US

Grand jury indicts friends of suspected Boston Bomber

Ariel Cohen Contributor
Font Size:

Two college friends of the suspected Boston Marathon Bomber have been indicted for obstruction of justice in the investigation of the April 15th attack that killed three people and injure many others.

Dias Kadyrbayev, 19, and Azmat Tazhayakov, 19, both citizens of Kazakhastan living in New Bedford, Massachusetts, were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice and obstructing justice with the intent to impede the Boston Marathon bombing investigation.

Three days after the bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev texted his two friends to remove items from his dorm room and “take what’s there.” Kadbayey and Tazhaykov obediently removed Tsarnaev’s backpack and laptop from the  room.

According to the indictment, the pair took the items back to their apartment in New Bedford. Once they realized that the backpack contained bomb-making material, such as fireworks, Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov threw it out.

Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev were both enrolled at University of Massachusetts Dartmoth in 2011 with Dzhokhar Tsarnev. Tazhayakov was suspended from school pending the case verdict, and Kadyrbayev was not enrolled at the time of the bombing.

If convicted on both counts, the two men could face up to 20 years in prison for the obstruction of justice and up to five years for conspiracy, each to be followed by up to three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and deportation.

Follow Ariel on Twitter

Ariel Cohen