Friend of Boston bombing suspect convicted of lying to FBI

BOSTON – A friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev  has been convicted of lying during the investigation into the 2013 attack.
Robel Phillipos, of Cambridge, was convicted of both counts Tuesday.
Prosecutors say he lied about being in Tsarnaev’s dorm room while two other friends removed potential evidence three days after the bombing while an intense manhunt was underway to find the suspected bombers.
FBI agents testified that Phillipos told them a string of lies before finally acknowledging he had been in Tsarnaev’s room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth with the two men who removed Tsarnaev’s a backpack containing fireworks and laptop computer.
Phillipos’ lawyers said he was a frightened 19-year-old who was intimidated by the FBI and too high on marijuana to clearly remember what he did that night.