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 U.S. prosecutors contend that Robel Phillipos, 21, lied to
authorities about a visit that he and two other friends made to
accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's dorm room three days after the
2013 attack, which killed three people and injured more than 260.
Phillipos, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and two Kazakh exchange
students visited Tsarnaev's room at the University of Massachusetts
at Dartmouth on April 18, 2013, after receiving a text message from
him telling them to go there and take whatever they wanted.
One of the Kazakhs, Azamat Tazhayakov, was convicted in July of
obstruction of justice for taking a backpack containing fireworks
during that visit. The other, Dias Kadyrbayev, pleaded guilty to
obstruction in August.
 James Scripture, an FBI agent who specializes in electronic
searches, is due to return to the witness stand at U.S. District
Court in Boston on Tuesday to testify about text messages the
friends sent.
Phillipos faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted of lying to
investigators about the visit. Officials last week testified that he
initially denied visiting Tsarnaev's room and later said he had gone
to the door but had not entered.
Phillipos' attorney contended that his client had been intoxicated
on marijuana at the time and had no clear memory of his activities
that night. The visit occurred during a massive manhunt for Tsarnaev
and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, that resulted in a
day-long lockdown of much of the Boston area.
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The elder Tsarnaev died later that night following a gun battle with
police.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, is awaiting trial on charges that carry the
death penalty.
(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Mohammad
Zargham)
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