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A U.S. jury on Monday found a friend of the accused Boston Marathon bomber guilty of obstructing the investigation into the deadly blasts by removing a backpack containing fireworks shells from the suspect's dorm room.
The friend, Kazakh exchange student Azamat Tazhayakov, was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice for going to suspected bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's room three days after the April 15, 2013 attack and removing a backpack containing empty fireworks shells.
Prosecutors have said Tazhayakov, fellow Kazakh exchange student Dias Kadyrbayev and Robel Phillipos of Cambridge, Massachusetts, removed evidence from Tsarnaev's room at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth after realizing that their friend was depicted in photos the FBI released of the suspected bomber.
Tazhayakov's defense said they would appeal the decision.
"My client never took a backpack out of his apartment.
