Aaron Hernandez arrested | Odin Lloyd murder

Aaron Hernandez arrested | Odin Lloyd murder

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez drove his friend to a remote spot in an industrial park in the dead of night before he murdered him, still fuming from a fight at a nightclub three nights before, prosecutors alleged in a Massachusetts court on Wednesday. "He orchestrated the crime from the beginning and took steps to conceal and destroy evidence," First Assistant District Attorney Bill McCauley told an Attleboro District Court. Hernandez pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and five firearms charges, including possessing a large-capacity firearm, more than a week after the body of Odin Lloyd was found near his Massachusetts home. A judge ordered him to be held without bail because of the murder charge.

Aaron Hernandez arrested | Odin Lloyd murder 

Wearing a white V-neck shirt, red sports shorts, and handcuffs, Hernandez showed no emotion as prosecutors laid out a bruising account of what allegedly happened the night semi-professional football player Lloyd was killed, citing what they say is surveillance camera footage, text messages, and witnesses who were working the overnight shift who heard gunshots as evidence. Hernandez wiped tears from his face at the very end of the arraignment. The bullet-punctured body of Lloyd, 27, was found by a jogger on June 17 in an industrial park about one mile away from the ex-tight end's North Attleborough home. The death was ruled a homicide.


Prosecutors said that the killing was prompted by a fight between the two friends during a trip on June 14 to a Boston nightclub. On June 17, Hernandez and two friends allegedly picked Lloyd up at his house at 2:30 a.m. Surveillance footage from Hernandez's house shows him leaving earlier in the night with a weapon, prosecutors said. After getting into the car, Lloyd allegedly texted a family member, asking, "Did you see who I am with," prosecutors said. He then texted that it was Hernandez and followed it up with, "Just so you know" in another text message, the prosecutors alleged during the arraignment. Later that morning, between 3:23 a.m. and 3:27 a.m., employees who were working the overnight shift at the industrial park where Lloyd's body would later be found reported hearing gunshots, authorities said. It's not clear who investigators believe fired the shots. "It is at bottom a circumstantial case. It is not a strong case," Michael Fee, Hernandez's attorney, who had asked for bail, said in court. But prosecutors allege home security videos from Hernandez's house show him with firearms after Lloyd had been murdered, and show a Nissan Altima — the same type of car Hernandez had rented — going to and coming from the site where Lloyd's body would later be found. He was seen exiting the vehicle at 3:29 a.m. with a gun at his home on the surveillance footage, prosecutors claim, shortly after authorities say Lloyd was killed. Hernandez, 23, was placed in handcuffs and put in a police cruiser just before 9 a.m. on Wednesday by Massachusetts State Police and North Attleborough police. Authorities have searched his home, on the Rhode Island line not far from the Patriots' stadium, several times over the past week.Less than two hours after the arrest, the Patriots announced they were releasing Hernandez.

Aaron Hernandez arrested | Odin Lloyd murder 

"A young man was murdered last week and we extend our sympathies to the family and friends who mourn his loss. Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation. We realize that law enforcement investigations into this matter are ongoing. We support their efforts and respect the process. At this time, we believe this transaction is simply the right thing to do," a statement from the team read. The Patriots drafted Hernandez in 2010. Last summer, the team gave Hernandez a five-year contract that is worth $40 million, including a signing bonus of $12.5 million. The investigation also cost Hernandez his endorsement contract with CytoSport, which makes Muscle Milk and other supplements for athletes, last week. A call to Fee, Hernandez's attorney, was not immediately returned. Separately, Hernandez is also embroiled in a civil lawsuit by a Connecticut man, Alexander Bradley, who alleges Hernandez shot him in the eye after the two left a Miami strip club in February. According to a Palm Beach County police report, the case was abandoned because Bradley refused to cooperate with authorities.Hernandez lives with his fiancee and their infant, according to Fee.

Aaron Hernandez to be charged with obstruction of justice

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez will be accused of obstruction of justice in connection with the shooting death of a friend whose body was found dumped in an industrial park less than a mile from Hernandez's home in North Attleborough, Mass., according to a report by CBS Boston.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030 cited a person with knowledge of the investigation as saying an arrest warrant has been issued for Hernandez.

Massachusetts State Police, which has been handling the homicide investigation, is expected to be the agency that will arrest Hernandez, but when and where is unclear, the report said.

It's possible that as the investigation continues, charges could be added or upgraded.

The body of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd of Dorchester, Mass., was found Monday. He had been shot in the head, according to several reports. The Boston Globe reported Friday that Lloyd had been shot multiple times. Lloyd's family has said he had some connection to Hernandez but would not elaborate.

The Boston Globe reported Friday that police have surveillance videos that show Hernandez with Lloyd on the morning police say Lloyd was murdered.

ABC News has reported that persons with knowledge of the investigation have said Hernandez destroyed his cell phone and surveillance videos from the cameras at his home, and that his home was cleaned hours after police believe Odin was killed.

The Globe reported a police source who said Lloyd was killed where the body was found.

Hernandez also is being sued in South Florida by a man claiming Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued at a strip club. The lawsuit was filed late Wednesday by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley.

In his federal lawsuit seeking at least $100,000 in damages, Bradley claims he and Hernandez were with a group in February at Tootsie's club in Miami when the two got into an argument. Later, as they were driving to Palm Beach County, Bradley claims Hernandez shot him with a handgun, causing him to lose his right eye.

Bradley, who is from Connecticut, also suffers from jaw pain, headaches, permanent injury to his right hand and arm and will probably need further surgery, according to the lawsuit. He has already undergone facial reconstruction surgery and has plates and screws in the right side of his face.

Bradley "will require extensive medical care and treatment for the rest of his life," the four-page lawsuit says.

Bradley did not mention Hernandez in a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report at the time. Bradley, found shot and bleeding Feb. 13 in an alley behind a John Deere store, insisted to investigators he did not know who shot him and gave only a vague description of possible assailants. A store employee found Bradley after hearing a shot outside, but the store's video surveillance system wasn't working.

Hernandez's lawyer did not immediately respond Thursday to an email seeking comment about the lawsuit. The lawsuit does not mention how Hernandez and Bradley are acquainted.

In another development Thursday, police in Providence, R.I., said Hernandez was taunted in May by a man at a nightclub near the Brown University campus but walked away. The man followed Hernandez for three blocks and a crowd formed, held back by police while Hernandez got into his vehicle and left.

Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, family and police were mum on the nature of Hernandez's relationship to Lloyd, who played for the Boston Bandits semi-pro team.

Media camped out Thursday at Hernandez's home, on the Rhode Island state line not far from the Patriots' stadium in Foxborough. A news helicopter followed along as Hernandez drove in a white SUV from his home to the stadium, then got out and went inside.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James said the team had no comment on why Hernandez was there. He said earlier that the team did not anticipate commenting publicly during the police investigation.

A Massachusetts State Police emergency response team on Thursday was searching the brush with metal detectors and poles on a road leading to the entrance to Hernandez's subdivision.

Hernandez attorney Michael Fee acknowledged media reports about the state police search of Hernandez's home as part of an investigation but said he and the player wouldn't have any comment on it.

Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward, would not say how Lloyd knew Hernandez and did not say whether police told her how her son died. An uncle said Lloyd had a connection to Hernandez but wouldn't elaborate.

Bristol District Attorney Samuel Sutter's office said investigators were asking for the public's help to find a silver mirror cover believed to have broken off a car between Boston and North Attleborough.

On Wednesday, at least seven state troopers searched both sides of a road just off the street where Hernandez lives. The officers used thin poles to pull back plants and search through undergrowth along the road.

The Patriots drafted Hernandez out of Florida in 2010. Since then, he has combined with Rob Gronkowski to form one of the top tight end duos in the NFL. He missed 10 games last season with an ankle injury and had shoulder surgery in April but is expected to be ready for training camp. Last summer, the Patriots gave him a five-year contract worth $40 million.

Hernandez said after he was drafted that he had failed a drug test while with the Gators and had been upfront with NFL teams about the issue.

Sports Illustrated reported that the link between Hernandez and the case was a rented Chevrolet Suburban with Rhode Island plates that police had been searching for. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the report.

Lloyd's neighbor Larry Connors said a black Suburban with Rhode Island license plates was towed out of the yard of Lloyd's house after his body was found. Lloyd had been driving it for a few days, but Connors had never seen it before that.