Dias Kadyrbayev, a college friend of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for not warning the police of his pal's motives.
Kadyrbayev, 21, received his punishment after apologizing to victims and their families for not contacting authorities.
According to The Associated Press, he pleaded guilty last year to obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges for hiding items in Tsarnaev’s dorm room after recognizing his friend in FBI photos after the bombing.
Kadyrbayev was accused of contacting Tsarnaev through text messages, and then proceeding to his room along with two other friends. While in Tsarnaev’s room, Kadyrbayev and another man were accused of confiscating his computer and backpack containing fireworks, the AP noted.
He later threw his friend’s backpack into a trash dumpster.
Kadyrbayev said in court that he does not know why he helped Tsarnaev.
“I can’t find an answer. I really can’t believe that I acted so stupidly,” he told Judge Douglas Woodlock before his sentence was handed down.
Prosecutors argued for a maximum seven-year sentence, while Kadyrbayev's lawyer sought only three years. He did, however, receive credit for the 26 months he's already been in custody. The judge also ruled that Kadyrbayev will be deported back to his native Kazakhstan after serving his sentence, according to the AP.
“The person I was back then, I’m ashamed of that person,”
Kadyrbayev said in the courtroom, according to The Boston Globe. “Now I know every decision has consequences, my decision has consequences as well . . . and I apologize for that.”
Last month, Tsarnaev was sentenced to death for his part in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three and injured more than 260.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.