WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- A magistrate judge on Monday agreed to release a friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev from federal custody while he awaits trial for allegedly lying to federal investigators probing the bombings.
Robel Phillipos, 19, was charged last week with lying about visiting Tsarnaev's college dorm room after the bombings. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth student faces a maximum of eight years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors initially asked that Phillipos be held while he awaits trial, arguing that he poses a serious flight risk. But both sides said in the court motion filed Monday they agreed to allow Phillipos to be released on $100,000 bond, provided he be confined to home and wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.
Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler agreed to the strict house arrest during a detention hearing. She told Phillipos he was allowed to leave the house only for meetings with his lawyers or true emergencies.
A huge crowd of supporters, including Phillipos' relatives, friends and grade-school principal, showed up at the courthouse. It was not immediately clear when Phillipos would be released.
Two other friends were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice by taking a backpack with fireworks and a laptop from Tsarnaev's dorm room. All four had studied at UMass Dartmouth.
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