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  1. #1
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    New arrest is linked to gun used to kill officer after Boston Marathon attack

    AP sources: New arrest is linked to gun used to kill officer after Boston Marathon attack


    • Article by: DENISE LAVOIE , Associated Press
    • Updated: July 22, 2014 - 6:55 PM


    BOSTON — A friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is believed to have provided the handgun used to kill a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer during the manhunt, people with knowledge of the investigation said Tuesday.

    Stephen Silva made an initial appearance in federal court on charges related to heroin trafficking and possession of a handgun with an obliterated serial number. An attorney for Silva, Jonathan Shapiro, said Tuesday evening that he had received the case only a few hours earlier and was not in a position to comment.


    The 9 mm Ruger pistol described in the indictment is the same handgun that was used to kill MIT police officer Sean Collier during the manhunt for the bombing suspects, according to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. The grand jury indictment, which was filed July 15, does not mention Collier's slaying or any connection to Tsarnaev.


    The origin of the gun was among the lingering mysteries of the investigation into the April 2013 attack, in which three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when twin bombs exploded near the finish line. Collier, 26-year-old MIT campus police officer, was ambushed several days later and shot multiple times in his car.


    According to the indictment, Silva knowingly had possession of the gun, "which had the importer's and manufacturer's serial number removed, obliterated, and altered and had previously been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce."


    The indictment also alleges that Silva conspired to distribute heroin this summer in the Boston area.


    Silva is a friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He said in court Tuesday that he graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in 2011, the same year as Tsarnaev. Silva was ordered to remain in custody ahead of a bail hearing scheduled for Aug. 6.


    Dzhokhar's brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed in a shootout with police several days after the bombings. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev escaped but was soon found, wounded and hiding in a boat dry-docked in a backyard in suburban Watertown.


    Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in November. He faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.

    Four other men have been charged with crimes related to the bombing investigation.

    On Monday, a federal grand jury found Azamat Tazhayakov guilty of obstruction of justice and conspiracy for trying to protect Tsarnaev by agreeing with another friend, Dias Kadyrbayev, to get rid of a backpack and disable fireworks they took from his dorm room. Kadyrbayev is to be tried next month on the same charges.


    Robel Phillipos, who is charged with lying to investigators about being in the dorm room with Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov the night the items were taken, is to have a separate trial in September. And a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Khairulluzon Matanov, is to be tried next year on charges that he lied to investigators about the extent of his friendship with Tamerlan Tsarnaev and the contact he had with both brothers in the days following the bombings.


    http://www.startribune.com/nation/268187342.html
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  2. #2
    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    (Photo: AP)
    Stephen Silva, 21, of Cambridge, Mass.,
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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Tsarnaev friend’s gun charge tied to Collier shooting, lawyer says


    By Patricia Wen and Evan Allen
    GLOBE STAFF JULY 23, 2014


    A close friend of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect -- who was arrested this week on a gun charge that could indirectly link him to the death of an MIT police officer -- had been arrested last fall for allegedly dealing marijuana in Dorchester, and told police then, “I smoke a lot of weed every day because my best friend was the bomber.”

    Stephen Silva’s comment to police last November took on heightened relevance this week after the 21-year-old University of Massachusetts Boston student appeared in federal court on heroin and gun charges.


    On Tuesday, he was charged with, among other things, possessing a defaced Ruger pistol that matches the model of a gun allegedly used in the killing of MIT police officer Sean Collier by the two bombing suspects.

    Related




    Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan were on the run from police on the night of April 18, 2013 when they allegedly killed Collier in an unsuccessful attempt to steal his service weapon. The Ruger P95 9mm pistol -- with its serial number obliterated, though later apparently made largely decipherable -- was recovered at the scene of a shootout in Watertown that followed Collier’s shooting, in which Tamerlan died.

    Silva’s court-appointed lawyer, Jonathan Shapiro of Boston, said on Wednesday that he was informed by federal authorities that his client’s gun charge is related to the Collier shooting.


    Federal law enforcement and MIT officials have declined to confirm that their probe focuses on the possibility that Silva provided a gun to the Tsarnaevs, and exactly how they may have traced the origins of the Tsarnaevs’ gun. A Cambridge police official acknowledged that federal prosecutors held a special briefing with top officers in the department about Silva’s arrest.


    According to a Los Angeles Times story in May, investigators traced the origins of the gun, after recovering much of its serial number, to a store near Portland, Maine, and to two people with alleged criminal ties. The story did not explain how the gun may have gotten to Silva or the Tsarnaevs.


    Silva’s gun possession charge is tucked in an indictment that focuses largely on six occasions in June when he allegedly sold heroin in Medford. A grand jury had indicted him on the heroin and gun charges a week ago, however he was not arrested until Monday night.

    He is currently being held by federal authorities.


    A longtime Cambridge friend of Silva’s, who saw him as recently as last week, said it was well-known among many friends that he was involved with marijuana. But the friend said he was “stunned” that Silva was possibly involved with selling heroin or providing guns to others.


    The friend, who asked to remain anonymous because he does not want to get involved in the criminal case, said Silva was part of a group of friends from Cambridge who enjoyed getting high, listening to rap music, and cracking jokes.


    “We were just chilling and smoking,” the friend said. “It’s summertime -- we just chill.”


    He said the subject of guns never came up in conversations, and he never saw Silva or any of his friends with weapons.


    “I’ve never seen any of these dudes with guns,” said the friend.


    He also said that Silva, whose family is from Cape Verde, did not have a summer job as far as he knew, and he often seemed low on cash.


    One fall day last year, however, Silva was allegedly carrying large amounts of money while at an MBTA stop in Dorchester, court records show.


    Silva was arrested on Nov. 21, 2013 at about 12:45 p.m. at the JFK/UMass Red Line station, court records say. MBTA Transit Police officers apparently smelled a strong odor of marijuana as Silva walked around the station and spoke on a cellphone. Police questioned him, and Silva allegedly consented to a search.


    Officers said they found at least two packets of marijuana, $555 in cash, and a piece of paper with a list of names, which appeared to relate to Silva’s marijuana-buying clients, according to the court records.


    While waiting to be booked, records say, Silva repeatedly told officers that he smoked copious amount of pot because “my best friend was the bomber.”


    Five days later, police investigators applied for a search warrant for the messages, phone calls, photos, and videos on Silva’s cellphone, saying it might provide important information on his suppliers and a larger drug trafficking operation. Officers said that even if Silva was a “street level” drug dealer and “near the bottom” of a drug-dealing enterprise, his cellphone could provide police with his higher-level contacts.


    In the application, officers noted that Silva also had a second cellphone, but they concluded it was for personal use, and they only requested records related to the first phone, which they believe was used for drug transactions.


    Court records suggest that police obtained permission for the search, and records from that cellphone were given to police in early December of last year.


    Silva attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and also worked with Tsarnaev as lifeguards at Harvard University’s pool. In addition, Silva has an identical twin brother with the very similar name of Steven Silva, who was even closer to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, according to several friends. Steven Silva and Dzhokhar attended UMass Dartmouth together.


    According to a UMass Boston official, the Silva twins have been enrolled at that school over the past two years, after Steven left UMass Dartmouth.


    Stephen, with no declared major, was enrolled at UMass Boston from the fall of 2013 to the spring of 2014, however he is not registered for this fall. His twin brother, who was majoring in computer science, was enrolled from the spring of 2012 to the spring of 2013.


    A supervisor at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool said he was surprised to hear that Stephen Silva was arrested on charges of heroin dealing and that he possibly provided a gun to Tsarnaev.


    The supervisor said he knew the Silva twins and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for at least two years, when they worked part time at the pool. He said that after Tsarnaev’s arrest in connection with the bombings, the twins started routinely missing shifts of work and “they drifted off.”


    The supervisor, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized by the university to speak publicly, said he is aware that after the bombing, the FBI questioned the twins extensively, and even examined their cellphones and computers. Both twins were aware they needed legal advice given the scrutiny on them as close friends of Tsarnaev, he said.


    The supervisor said he recalled Steven Silva as being closer to Dzhokhar. While in high school, Steven Silva converted to Islam, the same faith as the Tsarnaev family.


    The supervisor also said he happened to run into Stephen Silva two weeks ago in Harvard Square. He said they chatted, and Silva said he was continuing his studies at UMass Boston. The supervisor said Silva said he was not working as a lifeguard, and did not mention any summer job. He said Silva mentioned possibly visiting Brazil soon.


    Patricia Wen can be reached at wen@globe.com. Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com.

    http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/201...9DK/story.html
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