Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Complaint Describes Carjacking Episode

As previously reported, Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been officially charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (an improvised explosiv...
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Complaint Describes Carjacking Episode
Written by Chris Crum
  • As previously reported, Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been officially charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (an improvised explosive device) against persons and property within the United States resulting in death, and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death.

    If convicted, Tsarnaev faces the death penalty or life in prison.

    The Justice Department released a statement, as well as the complaint document. In this, we learn some interesting details. For example, there is a description of a carjacking episode the suspects engaged in. Here’s the relevant section from the document:

    Near midnight on April 18, 2013, an individual carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A victim of the carjacking was interviewed by law enforcement and provided the following information. The victim stated that while he was sitting in his car on a road in Cambridge, a man approached and tapped on his passenger-side window. When the victim rolled down the window, the man reached in, opened the door, and entered the victim’s vehicle. The man pointed a firearm at the victim and stated, “Did you hear about the Boston explosion?” and “I did that.” The man removed the magazine from his gun and showed the victim that it had a bullet in it, and then re-inserted the magazine. The man then stated, “I am serious.”

    The man with the gun forced the victim to drive to another location, where they picked up a second man. The two men put something in the trunk of the victim’s vehicle. The man with the gun took the victim’s vehicle. The man with the gun took the victim’s keys and sat in the driver’s seat, while the victim moved to the front passenger seat. The second man entered the victim’s vehicle and sat in the rear passenger seat. The man with the gun and the second man spoke to each other in a foreign language.

    While they were driving, the man with the gun demanded money from the victim, who gabe the man 45 dollars. One of the men compelled the victim to hand over his ATM card and password. They then drove to an ATM machine and attempted to withdraw money from the victim’s account. The two men and the victim then drove to a gas station/convenience store in the vicinity of 816 Memorial Drive, Cambridge. The two men got out of the car, at which point the victim managed to escape.

    You can read the full complaint here (pdf).

    In related news, this afternoon, reddit issued an apology for “dangerous speculation” that occurred on its site in the wake of the bombings.

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