MOSCOW, August 21 (RIA Novosti) – A 20-year-old Kazakh citizen and a college friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Dias Kadyrbayev, accused by the US authorities of hindering the investigation into the 2013 bombing, has agreed to plead guilty to a number of charges, The Boston Globe reported.
According to Kadyrbayev’s lawyer Robert Stahl, the young man is expected to issue a statement in US District Court in Boston later on Thursday. The attorney also confirmed that Kadyrbayev had agreed to plead guilty, but refused, however, to provide further details on the issue before the hearing.
The move might allow for a more lenient sentence for the defendant.
Kadyrbayev is charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice for allegedly removing Tsarnaev’s laptop computer and a backpack, filled with fireworks from his college dorm room and trying to dispose of them after learning that Tsarnaev was a suspect in the bombing. Kadyrbayev is scheduled to go on trial on September 8. He faces up to 25 years in prison and possible deportation if found guilty.
Three people were killed and over 260 wounded after two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15 last year. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, and his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, ethnic Chechens, were identified as suspects in the blasts. Tamerlan was killed during the shootout and Dzhokhar was arrested as part of a special operation on April 19. Dzhokhar faces 30 charges, half of which are punishable by death. On his first public court appearance on July 10, 2013, the suspect pleaded not guilty to all 30 counts.
Kadyrbayev is among three college friends of Tsarnaev charged with interfering with the investigation.
Kadyrbayev’s roommate, Azamat Tazhayakov, has been found guilty of obstructing the investigation last month and faces up to 25 years in federal prison as he is due to be sentenced on October 16.
Robel Phillipos, 19, was charged with two counts of lying to police and faces up to 16 years in prison. His trial is slated for September 29.
