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Three men were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly interfering with the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings, according to reports.
Authorities allege Robel Phillipos, 19, of Cambridge and friend with suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev, was watching the news on TV when he recognized Tsarnaev's photo and texted him saying he looked like one of the suspects.
He then alerted two of his university friends, Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov.
According to the Washington Post, on April 18 the trio went to Tsarnaev's dorm room. Right before entering, Kadyrbayev showed Tazhayakov a text message from Tsarnaev saying "I'm about to leave if you need something in my room take it." Tazhayakov told the FBI he believed he would never see Tsarnaev alive again.
According to USA Today Philippos "initially said that he did not remember going to Tsarnaev's dormitory room with Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev, saying he was asleep at their New Bedford apartment. But in a fourth interview he admitted to investigators that the three had gone to the dorm room.
Once inside, the three students took a backpack containing empty fireworks tubes, a jar of petroleum jelly and Tsarnaev's laptop. Authorities believe they then threw the items into a dumpster outside the building.
The FBI tracked the dumpster's contents to a landfill in New Bedford and found the backpack on April 26.
The three men appeared in federal court in Boston on Wednesday and agreed to voluntary detention. The next hearing is set for May 14.
Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev are accused of obstruction of justice and conspiring to conceal evidence while Robel Phillipos was charged with making false statements to federal law enforcement official.
According to reports, attorneys for the three men said that their clients had nothing to do with the bombing and had cooperated fully with the investigation.
