Post date: May 07, 2013 12:34:56 PM
Robel Phillipos, a 19-year-old accused of lying to FBI agents in the Boston Marathon bombing case, is freed on $100,000 bail.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES (MAY 6, 2013) (NBC) - The teenager accused of lying to FBI agents in the Boston Marathon bombing case was freed on $100,000 bail on Monday (May 6) pending a later trial date, and investigators said bomb fragments suggest they were less sophisticated than homemade ones used by insurgents.
While out on bail, Robel Phillipos will be under the custody of his mother and must wear a GPS bracelet, U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler ordered in federal court in Boston. The $100,000 bail for the 19-year-old was secured by real estate put up by a third party, the judge said."We are thankful for the court's consideration of what we filed, and also that the government took a careful look at what we submitted and agreed to our client's release on conditions, and now we will look forward to defending him in the coming months. We are confident that in the end we will be able to clear his name," saidDerege Demissie, an attorney for the teenager.
Phillipos, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is accused of making false statements to FBI agents investigating the April 15th attack that killed three people and injured 264 near the marathon's finish line. He was not charged with direct involvement in the attack.
Phillipos' mother was "very emotional," after the ruling, Demissie, said. About 60 people, including friends, family and a large contingent from the Boston Ethiopian community, appeared in the courthouse on Monday showing their support.
Defense lawyers argued he was not a flight risk, has no prior criminal history and can refute FBI allegations that he interfered with their investigation, court records show. In affidavits of support filed with the court, Phillipos is described as a social worker's caring son who read to kindergarten students.
"At no time did Robel have any prior knowledge of this marathon bombing, nor did he participate in any of the planning done by the defendant in this case. He is not charged with, nor is he alleged to have disposed with the backpack or had any role in what the two other individuals, the two students who are here on visas, did with the backpack," Susan Church, another attorney for Phillipos, said.
Last week, U.S. authorities charged Phillipos and two 19-year-old students fromKazakhstan with interfering with their investigation as a manhunt for suspectsTamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was under way.