Robel Phillipos, a friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was found guilty on Tuesday of both counts of lying to FBI agents who interrogated him after the bombings.
After nearly 35 hours of deliberation, the 12 jurors found Robel Phillipos guilty of lying to law enforcement agents conducting a terrorism investigation. Jurors found that Phillipos lied about what he witnessed the night of April 18, 2013, three days after the marathon bombings, when two of his friends went to Tsarnaev’s dorm room at UMass Dartmouth and took a backpack containing fireworks and other items that can be used to make a bomb. US Attorney Carmen Ortiz says she is gratified by the verdict.
“He 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.”
Phillipos and his family did not show emotion when the verdicts were read and did not comment outside the federal courthouse. Defense attorney Susan Church described a “young, frightened” man who had gone to high school and college with Tsarnaev and is now very angry. She and the defense team had argued that Phillipos was sleep deprived and high on marijuana when he met with FBI agents.
“Basically, this verdict is the verdict that the jury found that he was present in the room while others did what they did in this case. And we are heartened by the fact that the jury was able to see at least that portion through of our case.”
US District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock scheduled sentencing for January 29th. He ordered Phillipos to remain under house arrest. Phillipos faces a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison.
