Three Suspects Allegedly Aided Boston Bomber

UPDATE, 6 p.m.: In the days following the Boston Marathon bombings April 15, accused suspect Dzokhar Tsarnaev texted with a college friend thrusting him and two others into the precarious situation of helping the man who may have attacked the city.

Dias Kadyrbayev, 19, Azamat Tazhayakov, 20, and Robel Phillipos, 20, looked every bit as young in their initial federal court appearance Wednesday afternoon as their actions in the days following the bombing would indicate, according to the federal criminal complaint against them.

Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov each face one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, and Phillipos faces a charge of making false statements in a terrorism investigation. Each voluntarily denied bail and were detained following their appearance before Judge Marianne B. Bowler at John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Boston.

[Read the full story here]

UPDATE, 4 p.m.: Federal law officials believe three classmates of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev destroyed evidence in Darmouth while the suspected bombing brothers were in a gunfight with police in Watertown.

In a complaint filed in federal court Wednesday, special agent Scott Cieplik claims suspect Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov destroyed or concealed a laptop and backpack filled with fireworks. Third suspect Robel Phillipos, meanwhile, is being charged with lying to federal officials.

According to the complaint, the April 18 night started when Kadyrbayev texted Tsarnaev, needling his friend about his resemblance to the FBI photos released earlier that day. Tsarnaev wrote back "LOL" and then said Kadyrbayev could go get anything they needed from Tsarnaev's UMass Dartmouth dorm room.

According to Cieplik, Kadyrbayev, Tazhayakov and Phillipos went to Tsarnaev's dorm room to watch a movie. While there, Kadyrbayev noticed a backpack with fireworks. The powder was removed from inside the fireworks, which made Kadyrbayev believe that Tsarnaev really was the person in the FBI photos.

According to the complaint, he then grabbed the bag and Tsarnaev’s laptop and, along with Tazhayakov and Phillipos, went back to his own apartment. The three decided to throw the bag and fireworks away because they didn’t want Tsarnaev to get into trouble. Kadyrbayev alone tossed the emptied fireworks husks and backpack into a trash bag and dropped it in a dumpster near the apartment, but with Tazhayakov’s and Phillipos’s knowledge.

When interviewed later, Tazhayakov largely corroborated Kadyrbayev’s story, mentioning the group also took a jar of Vaseline, which Tazhayakov thought Tsarnaev may have used to make the bombs. Tazhayakov said he knew Kadyrbayev was going to throw the backpack and fireworks into a dumpster.

Phillipos, meanwhile, initially denied going to Tsarnaev’s room with the others, saying instead he watched television at Tazhayakov’s apartment until about 4 a.m. Friday morning. In a second interview, Phillipos said he didn’t remember going to Tsarnaev’s room. When pressed, he then said he did, in fact, remember going to the room to see if the photos on television were actually of Tsarnaev, but that the door was locked when they arrived.

According to the affidavit, Phillipos came clean during a fourth interview on April 26, admitting he had lied in earlier talks with officials, and then signed a statement read to him. That statement corroborated the stories told by the other two suspects. Phillipos said the trio “started to freak out” when they realized their friend Tsarnaev was one of the marathon bombers and discussed throwing out the backpack and fireworks.

Also on April 26, agents searching a nearby landfill found the backpack, emptied fireworks and a homework sheet for one of Tsarnaev's classes.

An earlier story follows:

Boston Police have announced a major new development in the Boston Marathon bombing case. According to the department, there are three new suspects in custody.

Boston Police tweeted the news just after 11 a.m. Wednesday, offering few details other than to stress that there was no immediate threat to the public.

WCVB reports that the three suspects allegedly helped Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev remove items from his dorm room at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

[The criminal complaints against the three suspects are attached to the right of this story.]

There is heavy security around the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston amid reports that the three suspects are being transferred there to appear in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing. The suspects are expected to appear in court at 3:30 p.m.

Boston.com says two of the three suspects in custody were in court earlier this morning facing immigration charges. The students in court this morning were Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov of Kazakhstan.

U.S Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office said in a statement issued around 2 p.m. that Kadyrbayev, 19, and 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 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.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two brothers authorities say were behind the bombings at the Boston Marathon finish line, reportedly purchased two mortar kits from Phantom Fireworks in Seabrook on Feb. 6, though the affidavit accompanying the complaint doesn't say if these were the fireworks in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's room.

According to the affidavit, 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 a $250,000 fine. Phillipos faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine.