Boston Marathon bomber's friend sentenced to six years

BOSTON, June 2 (UPI) -- Dias Kadyrbayev, a college friend of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who helped dispose of evidence connected to the bombing, apologized for his role in the 2013 attack, saying he is ashamed of not calling the police when he recognized Tsarnaev as a suspect.

Kadyrbayev, a Kazakh citizen, was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison after he collected a backpack with fireworks and a laptop computer from Tsarnaev's dorm room at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth just after the terror attack. He had pleaded guilty last year to charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy.

"I accept full responsibility. Since then, I've grown up," Kadyrbayev told U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock. "The person I remember back then, I'm ashamed of that person."

Prosecutors said Kadyrbayev remained silent about the bombing and disposed of evidence. It wasn't found until investigators searched a nearby landfill.

"This was an investigation of such critical importance to the safety and security of the public," Woodlock said from the bench. "Anyone confronted with the information unfolding in real time would have understood the seriousness of this.''

Tsarnaev was convicted and sentenced to death in May for his role in the bombing that killed three and wounded more than 260. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was his partner in the bombing, was killed in a confrontation with police after the attack.