Boston Police Announce 3 More Suspects In Custody For Marathon Bombings

Three men were arrested on charges that they helped Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after the deadly attacks last month. Federal prosecutors allege that Dias Kadyrbayev, 19, and Azamat Tazbayakov, 19, tried to conceal and destroy a laptop and backpack full of fireworks belonging to Tsarnaev, a friend from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where they were all students at one time. They were charged with alleged conspiracy to obstruct justice by the U.S. Attorney's office in Massachusetts. A third man, Robel Phillipos, 19, was accused of lying to law enforcement officials who questioned him about the bombing. Kadyrbayev and Tazbayakov live in New Bedford, but are originally from Kazakhstan. They were already accused of violating the terms of their student visas. Phillipos is from Cambridge, the same city where Tsarnaev grew up and attended UMass-Dartmouth with the others. The Boston Police Department had announced earlier on Wednesday via Twitter that new suspects were in custody. "Please be advised that there is not a threat to public safety," the police announced in a statement. "There is no additional info to release at this time. Additional details will be provided when they become available." Tsarnaev, 19, was a student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth at the time of the bombing. An FBI agent's affidavit explained how Tsarnaev's three friends discovered his alleged role in the bombing and the steps they took to conceal it. Phillipos called Kadyrbayev to say that Tsarnaev resembled one of the suspects in the photos released by the FBI on April 18, the affidavit said. Kadyrbayev sent text messages to Tsarnaev joking about the physical similarities. Tsarnaev wrote back saying "lol" and "you better not text me," which Kadyrbayev didn't take seriously, the affidavit said. The three friends met in Tsarnaev's dorm room that night even though he wasn't there, according to Kadyrbayev's statements. While watching a movie, they noticed a backpack containing fireworks that had been emptied of the explosive powder. "Kadyrbayev knew when he saw the empty fireworks that Tsarnaev was involved in the Marathon bombing," Agent Scott Cieplik swore in his affidavit. He then "decided to remove the backpack from the room in order to help his friend Tsarnaev avoid trouble." He also took Tsarnaev's laptop, because he thought it would appear less suspicious to Tsarnaev's roommate, who was also in the dorm room. Tzahayakov told authorities that they also took a jar of Vaseline, which they believed might have been used to produce bombs. Kadyrbayev allegedly told investigators that he threw the computer and backpack into the garbage after Tazhayakov and Philipos agreed they should try to protect Tsarnaev. Tazahayakov told authorities that Tsarnaev gave him a ride home from class on April 17, two days after the bombing. Authorities claim he said that Kadyrbayev showed him a text message the next day that indicated Tsarnaev would try to flee. "I'm about to leave if you need something in my room take it," the text allegedly said. "When Tazhayakov learned of this message, he believed he would never see Tsarnaev alive again," the affidavit said. Gov. Deval Patrick said he was informed that the new suspects had no role in the actual bombing, but became involved afterward. Dzhokhar is in a Massachusetts prison hospital and charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed during a shootout and attempted getaway from police in Watertown four days after the Marathon bombing. The attack at the Marathon killed three people and wounded more than 260 others. A transit police officer who was gravely wounded in a subsequent shootout in Watertown while pursuing the Tsarnaev brothers updated the public today on his recovery from life-threatening injuries. "I cannot begin to properly thank everyone involved in my recovery, as many fearless individuals stepped up and acted heroically that night," said Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officer Richard Donohue in a message Wednesday on his department's blog. The update features a picture of Donohue smiling with his wife in his hospital room "To start I must thank my brothers from the Transit, Boston, Harvard, Watertown, Cambridge and State Police, as well as fire department personnel and the various other first responders, all of whom put their own lives on the line to save mine," Donohue said. "In the midst of a firefight they dropped to the ground and assisted me when I was shot. My family got through those first few days through the community's outpouring of prayers and endless support."