BOSTON — A friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges of trafficking heroin and possessing an illegal handgun connected to the April 2013 bombings.
Stephen Silva, 21, of Cambridge appeared in federal court in Boston to waive his right to a detention hearing. He has been in custody since his July arrest. His next court date is Oct. 8.
Authorities have said they believe that Silva provided Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, with the gun used to kill Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier during the manhunt after the April 2013 bombings, which killed three people and injured more than 260 others.
Silva’s grand jury indictment from July does not mention the police officer’s slaying or Tsarnaev. Instead, it focuses mostly on allegations that Silva was dealing heroin in the Boston area this summer. It also states that Silva received a Ruger pistol with the serial number removed in February 2013.
That gun was used to kill Collier on April 18, 2013, as the Tsarnaevs were being sought, according to two people with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation.
Police have said they recovered the Ruger after a shootout in which Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found later hiding in a boat in suburban backyard. He faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.