Hernandez on trial for 2013 shooting death of Odin Lloyd
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Hernandez investigated after Tuesday altercation
NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. — A Massachusetts sheriff says former NFL star Aaron Hernandez has been involved in a jail altercation.
Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson tells Rhode Island’s WJAR-TV that the former New England Patriots tight end had an altercation at the Bristol County House of Corrections on Tuesday.
Hodgson said he couldn’t provide much information, but told the TV station that Hernandez and another inmate are part of an internal investigation at the jail. He said Hernandez is away from the general jail population in a segregated housing unit.
The 24-year-old Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murder in the killing of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd. The Boston man was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee.
Alexander Bradley shot in Hartford overnight
BOSTON — An associate of Aaron Hernandez is recovering after being shot several times in Connecticut.
Hartford police Lt. Brian Foley said Alexander Bradley was shot several times in the leg Sunday night at the Vevo Lounge Bar & Grill.
Police said Bradley was shot three times in the thigh, then opened fire on the club from a car as he fled the scene. No additional injuries were reported from that shooting.
Police said Bradley fell out of the car when he was pulled over.
Bradley was taken to Hartford Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Bradley claimed Hernandez shot him in the face last year.
Recently released search warrants claim Bradley was seen going into a club in Boston the night of a double homicide in the city’s South End in 2012.
Neither Hernandez nor Bradley have been charged in that crime.
2 men killed in Boston in 2012
BOSTON — Police believe former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez was in an SUV when someone inside shot two people to death in Boston in 2012, according to a search warrant filed in Connecticut.
The warrant does not indicate who investigators believe pulled the trigger or suggest a motive in the shooting of Daniel Jorge Correia de Abreu and Safiro Teixeira Furtado in Boston’s South End. No charges have been filed in the case. An attorney for Hernandez did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday.
Hernandez came under scrutiny in the shooting following his arrest in the slaying of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player whose body was found June 17 near Hernandez’s North Attleborough, Mass., home. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murder in that case.
In searching a home of Hernandez’s uncle in Bristol, Conn., police found the SUV wanted in the 2012 shooting in Boston.
The new search warrant, first reported by The Hartford Courant, was filed in Bristol Superior Court. It sought recordings of phone calls made by a Hernandez associate, Alexander Bradley, while Bradley was jailed in Hartford for failing to appear before a Massachusetts grand jury investigating the 2012 shooting.
Bradley has alleged in a pending lawsuit in Florida that Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued outside a Miami club in February 2013.
The search warrant filed by Bristol police provides some of the first details of Hernandez’s alleged link to the Boston shooting.
Surveillance camera recordings showed Hernandez and Bradley going into the Boston nightclub Cure at about 12:30 a.m. on July 16, 2012, shortly after the shooting victims went into the club, according to the warrant. Video footage shows Hernandez and Bradley leaving the club about 10 minutes later and Hernandez then driving a Toyota 4Runner SUV out of a parking garage just after 1:15 a.m., police said.
The footage shows the victims leaving the club at about 2:10 a.m., and Hernandez’s SUV passing by them twice as they walked to a parking garage to get their car, the warrant says.
A third man who was shot in the car but survived, Aquilino Freire, told police an SUV pulled up next to them while they were stopped at a traffic light, and he saw someone in the SUV’s back seat laughing, the warrant says. Then, several gunshots were fired from the rear passenger seat into the car, Freire told police.
Robert J. Valentine died in scooter crash
During a bail hearing at Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River on Thursday, prosecutors said “the evidence of his guilt is overwhelming.”
AP Photo/Ted Fitzgerald, Pool
BRISTOL, Conn. —Police say an uncle of jailed former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was operating a motor scooter under the influence of alcohol and drugs when he died in a Connecticut crash in August.
Bristol police say their investigation concluded Robert J. Valentine drove in a negligent manner while under the influence. They say he had alcohol and cocaine in his system.
Police also say he was operating the scooter at night with dark-colored sunglasses, which likely hampered his vision.
Hernandez grew up in Bristol. He’s charged with murder in the shooting death of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd, a Boston resident who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s girlfriend.
Lloyd’s body was found June 17 near Hernandez’s mansion in North Attleborough, Mass. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty.
Several people linked to Hernandez have died recently.
Defense says DA violated gag order
FALL RIVER, Mass. —A judge may impose a formal gag order in the murder case against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez after his attorneys accused the state of allowing leaks they contend could jeopardize his right to a fair trial.
At a hearing in Fall River Superior Court on Monday, defense attorney Michael Fee blamed prosecutors for out-of-court statements reported in the media that he says have tarnished the ex-player.
“Mr. Hernandez is entitled to a fair trial,” Fee told Judge Susan Garsh during the hour-long proceeding. “He is entitled to a jury panel that has not been poisoned by either false or sensational statements.”
The judge did not immediately rule on the defense’s request for a formal gag order.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murder in the June shooting death of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-professional football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s girlfriend.
In a November filing, Hernandez’s attorneys said the state had “flouted” the rules of professional conduct and disregarded the judge’s admonition against prejudicial out-of-court commentary.
The defense said the prosecution orchestrated a “publicity stunt” in October, when authorities served Miami Dolphin Michael Pouncey with a subpoena related to the case after playing the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. Pouncey played football with Hernandez at the University of Florida. The defense said serving the subpoena in that way and statements to the media attributed to law enforcement sources whipped up more publicity about the case.
The prosecution has not commented publicly on the subpoena.
In court Monday, Assistant District Attorney William McCauley denied the allegations, saying no leaks have come from the district attorney’s office or the investigative team.
“We are playing fair,” he said. “We’ve agreed to the rules of professional conduct, and we’re abiding by them.”
McCauley accused the defense of misconduct by calling into question the state’s integrity, without evidence of who was responsible for any leaks.
Despite sparring in court, the two sides agreed in principle on the issuance of a gag order. The judge asked both to submit specific proposals for a formal order, both due in January.
Hernandez, who’s from Bristol, Conn., was in court Monday but did not speak. His girlfriend, Shayanna Jenkins, and mother also attended. Jenkins is facing a perjury charge related to her testimony before the grand jury that indicted Hernandez. She has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege Hernandez killed Lloyd because he was upset with him for talking to some people at a nightclub with whom Hernandez had problems.
“We are playing fair,” he said. “We’ve agreed to the rules of professional conduct, and we’re abiding by them.”
McCauley accused the defense of misconduct by calling into question the state’s integrity, without evidence of who was responsible for any leaks.
Despite sparring in court, the two sides agreed in principle on the issuance of a gag order. Rather than ruling Monday, Garsh asked both to submit specific proposals for a formal order, both due in January.
Hernandez was in court Monday but did not speak. His girlfriend, Shayanna Jenkins, and mother also attended. Jenkins is facing a perjury charge related to her testimony before the grand jury that indicted Hernandez. She has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege Hernandez killed Lloyd because he was upset with him for talking to some people at a nightclub with whom Hernandez had problems.
