Man Charged With Obstruction in Boston Marathon Bombing Investigation Appears in Court

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Photo: Facebook

A friend of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects is staying in federal custody after making an appearance in U.S. District Court Friday afternoon on obstruction charges in the investigation.

Authorities say 23-year-old Khairullozhon Matanov of Quincy, Massachusetts destroyed, altered and falsified records in a federal investigation and made false statements.

He did not enter a plea.

In court, Matanov, a cab driver for the past two years, told magistrate Marianne Bowler he understood his rights. Matanov is a legal resident of the United States after coming to Massachusetts from Kyrgyzstan in 2010. He said in court he went back to Kyrgyzstan for two years for law school after trying to get into college here, and added he has a valid passport and has never been arrested before.

Matanov's court appointed attorney, Ed Hayden, says his client is frightened by his arrest.

A detention hearing for Matanov was set for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 4.

According to U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office, Matanov realized the FBI would want to talk to him after seeing the photos of bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev because he knew them and shared their "philosophical justification for violence." Authorities say Matanov is accused of deleting information from his computer and lying to investigators.

Matanov was arrested in his apartment around 5 a.m.

 
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