No verdict after Day 2 in Tsarnaev friend trial

BOSTON (AP) — The jury in the trial of a man accused of trying to protect Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev deliberated for a second day without reaching a verdict on Thursday.

Azamat Tazhayakov is accused of agreeing with another friend to take a backpack containing opened fireworks and other items from Tsarnaev's dorm room several days after the 2013 bombing. He is charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy.

The jury began deliberations Wednesday afternoon, and continued deliberating Thursday until a juror became ill. The jury was dismissed about 4 p.m. and will resume deliberations Monday.

Tazhayakov, 20, who attended the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth with Tsarnaev, denies the charges. His lawyer told jurors it was another friend, Dias Kadyrbayev, who took Tsarnaev's backpack and later threw it away. Agents recovered it in a landfill.

Authorities say Tsarnaev, then 19, and his brother, Tamerlan, 26, built two pressure cooker bombs and placed them near the finish line of the iconic race. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, is awaiting trial in the bombings and faces the possibility of the death penalty. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died following a shootout with police several days after the bombing.

Authorities say the Tsarnaev brothers also killed an MIT police officer.

Kadyrbayev faces a separate trial in September. A third friend, Robel Phillipos, is charged with lying to investigators.

Cox Media Group