Massachusetts Man Charged With Obstructing Boston Bombing Investigation

A Quincy, Massachusetts, man has been charged with destroying evidence and lying to investigators who have been looking into the Boston Marathon bombing, according to an indictment unsealed Friday.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston alleges that Khairullozhon Matanov, 23, tried to impede investigators and hide his connection to Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the men suspected of perpetrating the bombing. Prosecutors allege that Matanov lied to investigators and deleted information from his computer, including his browser cache, which stored records including his Google searches and a list of websites he visited.

Officials have no indication that Matanov had advance knowledge of the plan to bomb the marathon.

Prosecutors accuse Matanov, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan who legally emigrated to the United States in 2010, of being friends with Tamerlan Tzarnaev and participating in “a variety of activities” with the accused, including “hiking up a New Hampshire mountain in order to train life, and praise, the ‘mujahideen.’” According to the indictment, hosted here by CBS News, Matanov was in close contact with the bombers shortly after the bombs exploded on the afternoon of April 15, 2013, and bought them both dinner that evening.

If convicted on all counts against him, Matanov faces decades in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. His initial court appearance is set for 2 p.m. Friday.