Boston Marathon bomber friend sentenced to six years

Dias Kadyrbayev, the friend of Marathon bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev, was sentenced to six years in solitary confinement for conspiracy and obstruction of justice on Tuesday morning.

He will be deported back to his homeland of Kazakhstan following his release.

Kadyrbayev was sentenced for removing a backpack filled with empty fireworks and a laptop from Tsarnaev’s dorm room at UMass Dartmouth following the April 15, 2013 attack that killed three people and injured more than 260. In a court filing last week, MIT officer Sean Collier’s stepfather said that his murder “absolutely could have been prevented” had Kadyrbayev alerted authorities.

In his own words, Kadyrbayev apologized to the judge and to the public for his “stupid” choices. “I am not excusing my decision,” Kadyrbayev said. “I know my decisions were wrong. I want to start by saying how truly sorry I am for all of the families, the victims, their friends and what happened.”

Kadyrbayev spoke of the shame he brought to his name and his family’s name and his desire to go back and do the right thing if he could, something he has mulled over in his 26 months of solitary confinement in Essex County jail. “In my time in jail, I ask myself how I could be so stupid and I cannot find a reason,” Kadyrbayev said. “I accept full responsibility. I look back now and cannot believe that was me.”

Kadyrbayev plead guilty to his role in dumping the backpack in a landfill in New Bedford, under the guide of his attorneys after prosecutors agreed that he would server no more than seven years instead of the 20-year possibility outlined by federal sentencing guidelines.

U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock applauded the government’s restraint in sentencing Kadyrbayev, and called their agreement “humane.” Text messages between Kadyrbayev and Tsarnaev showed that the two spoke on the night of April 15, where Tsarnaev told Kadyrbayev to “got to my room and take what’s there :).”

Woodlockcondemedall support shown by Tsarnaev’s friends throughout the course of the bombing investigation, the shootout and the manhunt. “I cannot think of a more serious offense of obstruction,” Woodlock said. “I found the emails, texts and social media outpouring from Tsarnaev’s friends to be repugnant. It makes you want to take a shower after reading them.”