Aaron Hernandez Found Guilty Of First-Degree Murder Of Odin Lloyd~ Sentenced To Life In Prison Without The Possibility Of Parole

Aaron Hernandez
Football player
Aaron Michael Hernandez is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Wikipedia
Born: November 6, 1989 (age 23), Bristol, CT
40 yard dash time: 4.64 seconds
Nationality: American
Height: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
Salary: 540,000 USD (2012)
Parents: Terri Hernandez, Dennis Hernandez

Hernandez Investigation Documents Sealed

A judge has sealed the investigation documents involving the killing of an acquaintance of Aaron Hernandez.

Cops Search Pond Near Hernandez's Home

Attleboro District Court magistrate Mark E. Sturdy issued a statement Tuesday saying that all records related to the shooting death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd will be impounded.

"All records of the Attleboro District Court Clerk - Magistrate's Office involving the homicide investigation in the Town of North Attleboro have been impounded by order of the Court," Sturdy's statement said. "No further information is available at this time."

ABC News on Friday reported that authorities were expected to execute an arrest warrant at some point for Hernandez for obstruction of justice, but that has yet to occur.

State police officers and dogs searched Hernandez's home for more than 3½ hours Saturday. The results of search warrants normally would be unsealed within seven days.

Michael Fee, an attorney for Hernandez, released a statement Monday night that read:

"Over the past week, our client, Aaron Hernandez, has been the subject of a relentless flood of rumors, misinformation, and false reports in the media. These include the repeated publication of a supposedly confirmed report that an arrest warrant had been issued for Aaron, a report that was exposed as untrue.

"None of these false reports come from official sources and we appreciate the professionalism and restraint shown by the Bristol County District Attorney's Office to date with regard to its public statements while its investigation is underway. Out of respect for that ongoing investigation, we will continue to refrain from commenting on its substance."

Jamie Sultan, a longtime Boston criminal defense attorney at Rankin and Sultan, was seen entering Hernandez's house on Tuesday.

A representative at Ropes and Gray, the firm that includes Fee and has been representing Hernandez, confirmed that they are co-counsel along with Rankin and Sultan.

The arrest warrant was prepared last week after police discovered that the security system at Hernandez's home, along with his cellphone, were destroyed, sources told ABC News.

Surveillance video from the neighborhood shows Hernandez with Lloyd and two other people hours before Lloyd was killed last week, sources confirmed to ABC News late Thursday.

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Florida A.D. takes issue with reports on Aaron Hernandez’s past
Posted by Michael David Smith on June 25, 2013, 12:01 PM EDT

As the investigation continues into whether New England tight end Aaron Hernandez played a part in the death of Odin Lloyd, talk has increased that the Patriots should have stayed away from Hernandez in the 2010 NFL draft because of his checkered history at Florida. Now Florida’s athletic department is taking issue with that talk.
Responding to a flurry of reports citing NFL sources that said Hernandez was a trouble-maker at Florida and that NFL teams that did their homework steered clear of him, Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley told al.com, The information from the NFL sources is wrong.”
Although that statement is direct, it doesn’t really clear much of anything up: Which information is wrong? The report that Hernandez failed numerous drug tests at Florida? The report that NFL teams were concerned Hernandez might have gang ties? The report that Hernandez was questioned about a shooting while he was at Florida?
In a more specific denial, Steve McClain, senior associate athletics director, texted al.com: “I would go on record saying he didn’t fail six drug tests (at Florida).” That raises an obvious follow-up question: If he didn’t fail six drug tests, how many drug tests did he fail? That question remains unanswered by Florida officials.
Hernandez missed one game during his time at Florida, and he has said that was because of a suspension for a failed drug test. Other than that one-game suspension, Hernandez was a student-athlete in good standing during his time as a Gator. Which might mean he generally stayed out of trouble in college, or might mean that if you can help the Gators win games, Florida officials are willing to look the other way.

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Kevin Manahan, USA TODAY Sports 9:19 a.m. EDT June 26, 2013

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. — The Patriots' Aaron Hernandez has been taken into custody by police at his home.

Hernandez, wearing red shorts and sneakers, was led out from the home handcuffed, his arms beneath a white T-shirt, and placed in the back seat of a police cruiser.

It was not immediately known what charges Hernandez is facing. The Bristol County District Attorney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY Sports.

PHOTOS: Hernandez being led away in cuffs

Hernandez has been at the center of a police investigation into the homicide of Odin Lloyd.

The body of Lloyd, 27, a semipro football player, was found on June 17 in an industrial park by a nighttime jogger, about a half-mile from Hernandez's home. Police ruled the death a homicide, and Lloyd's family members said Lloyd, who was shot in the head, and Hernandez were friends who had been together the previous day.

Massachusetts State Police have twice searched Hernandez's home, along with nearby woods and a pond.

On Saturday, police swarmed Hernandez's home with investigators and two police dogs for nearly four hours. They concentrated on the house, a large playhouse in the back yard that Hernandez uses as a doghouse, nearby woods and Hernandez's white SUV, which was parked in the driveway. Investigators left with approximately a dozen bags.

They returned to Hernandez's upscale neighborhood Monday, when two divers in scuba gear checked a nearby pond before the team scoured densely wooded areas with metal detectors. According to one member of the six-man search team, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the case, investigators found no evidence during the hourlong search.

On Tuesday, all records related to the investigation were impounded by court order.

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SOME of These players that make a gazillion dollars just to show up think they are above the law..they can't handle the fame and fortune. Think OJ. Makes me sick and it's happening more and more. 

Arrested!

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YUP!!

Video at the link Turtle posted. 

Former Patriots tight end charged with murder
Author: By Mariano Castillo CNN
Published On: Jun 27 2013 10:28:44 AM

Aaron Hernandez, the former NFL tight end charged with murder in the death last week of an acquaintance, is now being investigated in connection with a double slaying in Boston's South End in July 2012, a law enforcement source close to the investigation told CNN.

The source gave no indication whether there was any connection between that investigation and Hernandez's current murder charge.

What is known is that the Boston Police Department has located and impounded a silver SUV with Rhode Island registration that police have been trying to find for almost a year, that's linked to the scene of a double homicide in 2012, the source said.

Investigators believe that Hernandez was renting the SUV at the time of those killings, the source said.

Hernandez, who was released by the New England Patriots on Wednesday after his arrest, will be back in a courtroom Thursday for a bail hearing.

Hernandez is scheduled to appear at Fall River, Massachusetts, Superior Court at 2 p.m. to appeal a judge's decision to hold him without bail, the court magistrate said.

A second man arrested in connection with the killing of Odin Lloyd is also expected to appear before a judge.

Carlos Ortiz was arrested in Bristol, Connecticut, on Wednesday and will have an initial hearing in Attleboro, Massachusetts, District Court as early as Thursday, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

Hernandez is accused in last week's shooting death of Lloyd, whose body was found in an industrial park area less than a mile from Hernandez's home.
He has pleaded not guilty.

Accusation of orchestrating murder
Hernandez "drove the victim to the remote spot, and then he orchestrated his execution," First Assistant District Attorney Bill McCauley said in court Wednesday.

"He orchestrated the crime from the beginning, he took steps to conceal and destroy evidence, and he took steps to prevent the police from speaking to ... an important witness," the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney Michael Fee has said that the evidence is circumstantial and that bail should be granted so that Hernandez can return home to spend time with his fiancee and 8-month-old child.

"It is a circumstantial case. It is not a strong case," Fee said, arguing that Hernandez was not a flight risk and had cooperated with authorities.

Lloyd, 27, was a semipro football player who worked for a landscape company. His sister, Olivia Thibou, told CNN last week that her brother was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee. Lloyd and Hernandez were at a Boston nightclub together the night of June 14, she said.

A 'model inmate'
During his first 24 hours in jail, Hernandez has been "polite and cooperative" and a "model inmate," Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson said.

Hernandez was being held in the jail's medical unit, which is standard for someone who hasn't been incarcerated before, Hodgson said.

The former pro athlete showed "no apparent nervousness" in jail, Hodgson said, but he noted the difficulty of going from having thousands of people cheering for him to being "just a number."

While in the medical unit, Hernandez will be locked up for 23 hours a day, with a break for a shower and phone calls, the sheriff said.

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Wow!

The Case Against Aaron Hernandez

Jeremy Schaap looks back at the day's events for Aaron Hernandez.
Tags: NFL, Aaron Hernandez, Murder

ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- Aaron Hernandez has been charged with murdering his friend after the two had a dispute during a trip to a nightclub.

Hernandez was arrested Wednesday and charged with the first-degree murder of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro football player whose body was found in an industrial park about a mile from the former New England Patriots tight end's home.

The first-degree murder charge against Aaron Hernandez means the prosecution believes Odin Lloyd's killing was planned and deliberate, writes Lester Munson. 

Always a charmer, Aaron Hernandez had us all fooled, including the Patriots, writes ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss.

The release of Aaron Hernandez should not come as a surprise to those who know the Patriots, writes James Walker. 

NFL rookies attended their annual rookie symposium in Ohio this week and they would be wise to learn life lessons from the Aaron Hernandez saga, writes Jeffri Chadiha. Story

• PDF: Hernandez complaint
• Grantland: Financial implications
• Insider: Pats can succeed Insider
• Radio: Mortensen | Reiss
Charges Against Aaron Hernandez
Charge Counts
First-degree murder 1
Carrying firearm w/o license 1
Poss. large-capacity firearm 2
Poss. firearm w/o FID card 2
Hernandez, released by the Patriots less than two hours after his arrest, pleaded not guilty and has been ordered to be held without bail. He also faces five gun-related charges, which were revealed Wednesday afternoon in Attleboro District Court.

Lloyd's relatives said he was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancée, that the two men were friends and that the men were out together on the last night of Lloyd's life. Lloyd was shot multiple times in the back and chest, authorities said.

Hernandez, 23, also was charged with one count of carrying a firearm without a license, two counts of possessing a large-capacity firearm and two counts of possessing a firearm without an FID card. (An FID card is a firearms ID card and allows the holder to possess non-large-capacity rifles and shotguns in his or her home. It is not the same as a license to carry.)

Judge Daniel J. O'Shea ordered both prosecutors and Hernandez's defense attorneys to refrain from publicly commenting on the case.

"The reality is that this case is still an ongoing investigation," Bristol County District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter said. "Invariably it is in the best interest of an ongoing investigation for the district attorney's office not to comment."

Hernandez could get life without parole if convicted. He was transported to the Bristol County House of Correction and Jail in North Dartmouth, Mass.

"It is at bottom a circumstantial case. It is not a strong case," said Hernandez's attorney Michael Fee.

Hernandez will have a probable cause hearing July 24 at 9 a.m. ET.

Lloyd's family members cried and hugged in the courtroom as prosecutor Bill McCauley outlined the killing. Two relatives were so overcome with emotion that they had to leave the courtroom.

McCauley said the crime stemmed from a night out at a Boston club called Rumor on June 14. He said Hernandez was upset about certain things, including that Lloyd had talked to some people Hernandez "had troubles with."

Two days later, McCauley said, on the night of June 16, Hernandez texted two friends from out of state and asked them to hurry back to Massachusetts.

Surveillance footage from outside Hernandez's home showed him leaving with a gun, and he told someone in the house that he was upset and couldn't trust anyone anymore, the prosecutor said.

The three men picked up Lloyd at his home around 2:30 a.m., according to authorities. As they drove around, they discussed what happened at the nightclub, and Lloyd started getting nervous, McCauley said.

Lloyd texted his sister, "Did you see who I am with?" When she asked who, Lloyd answered, at 3:22 a.m., "NFL," then, a minute later, "Just so you know."

Active Athletes Charged
The following is a list of active athletes charged with murder, homicide and/or manslaughter (differing degrees):
Year Player, Sport Charge
2013 Aaron Hernandez, NFL Murder
2013 A. Walcott, NFL Murder*
2013 O. Pistorius, Running Murder
2012 Josh Brent, NFL Mans.
2009 Donte' Stallworth, NFL Mans.
2005 Dany Heatley, NHL Homic.
2004 Tammy Crow, Swim Mans.
2003 Dwayne Goodrich, NFL Homic.
2001 Rae Carruth, NFL Murder
2000 Ray Lewis, NFL Murder
1998 Leonard Little, NFL Mans.
1995 Brian Blades, NFL Mans.
1992 Charles Smith, NBA Homic.
1989 Bruce Kimball, Diving Mans.
1988 Reggie Rogers, NFL Homic.
1986 Derrick Fenner, CFB Murder
1984 Craig MacTavish, NHL Homic.
1981 E. de Jesus, Boxing Murder
1974 Cesar Cedeno, MLB Mans.
1967 Rubin Carter, Boxing Murder
* Attempted murder charge Tuesday
-- Active at time of charge
-- ESPN Research

Within a few minutes after that, people working the overnight shift at the industrial park reported hearing gunshots, McCauley said.

Investigators did not specify who fired the shots and did not identify the two other people who were with Hernandez.

In arguing unsuccessfully for bail, Hernandez's attorney said the athlete is unlikely to flee, is a homeowner, and lives with his fiancée and an 8-month-old baby. He also said Hernandez had never been accused of a violent crime.

A man filed a lawsuit last week claiming Hernandez shot him after they argued at a strip club in February in Florida. However, no criminal charges were filed, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deemed the case, which did not name Hernandez, inactive because the alleged victim refused to cooperate.

Hernandez was wearing a white V-neck T-shirt with his arms inside the shirt and behind his back as he was led from his sprawling North Attleborough home at approximately 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. He casually spit into some bushes on his way to a police cruiser.

At about 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, the Patriots announced they had released Hernandez and expressed sympathy to Lloyd's family and friends.

"Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation," the Patriots said in a statement. "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."

The NFL also released a statement Wednesday, saying Hernandez's arrest is "deeply troubling."

"The involvement of an NFL player in a case of this nature is deeply troubling," the league's statement said. "The Patriots have released Aaron Hernandez, who will have his day in court. At the same time, we should not forget the young man who was the victim in this case and take this opportunity to extend our deepest sympathy to Odin Lloyd's family and friends."

Aaron Hernandez was arrested Wednesday morning at his home in North Attleborough, Mass., and charged with first-degree murder later in the day.

The Patriots drafted Hernandez, originally from Bristol, Conn., out of the University of Florida in 2010. Last summer, the team signed him to a five-year contract worth $40 million.

Hernandez is one of 28 NFL players arrested since this year's Super Bowl on Feb. 3, according to a database kept by U-T San Diego.

During the 2010 draft, one team said it wouldn't take Hernandez under any circumstances, and he wasn't selected until New England took him in the fourth round.

Afterward, Hernandez said he had failed a drug test in college -- reportedly for marijuana -- and was up front with teams about it.

The Boston Globe also reported Hernandez lost his temper and threatened a teammate during an ARGUMENT in the team's weight room shortly after he was drafted.

Hernandez became a father Nov. 6 and said he intended to change his ways: "Now, another one is looking up to me. I can't just be young and reckless Aaron no more. I'm going to try to do the right things."

ESPNBoston.com's Mike Rodak and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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By Richard Esposito and Erin McClam, NBC News

Authorities were hunting Friday for a third suspect in an expanding murder investigation swirling around Aaron Hernandez, the star NFL tight end accused of orchestrating the shooting death of a friend.
Massachusetts police said they were looking for Ernest Wallace, 41, known as “Fish,” whom they described as armed and dangerous. They said he was wanted as an accessory after murder. They said he had a very heavy build, was last seen in a silver or gray Chrysler.
Hernandez, an All-Pro who was released by the New England Patriots after his arrest earlier this week, is charged with first-degree murder in the execution of the friend, Odin Lloyd. He was denied a second request for bail Thursday.

Sources told NBC News that he was being investigated in another case — the drive-by killings of two men in Boston last year. The men were shot to death in an SUV after leaving a nightclub.

Hernandez, who is being held in a Massachusetts jail, lost a second endorsement deal Thursday. The Puma sportswear company, which signed Hernandez to a two-year deal in April, told CNBC it was ending the relationship “in light of the current situation.” CytoSport, maker of the Muscle Milk supplement drink, dropped Hernandez as a pitchman last week.
Authorities have said Hernandez took part in Lloyd’s killing in the early hours of June 17 after summoning two friends from out of state. Lloyd’s body was found in an industrial park near Hernandez’s home in North Attleborough, Mass. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty.
Connecticut authorities said Thursday that they had charged another man in connection with Lloyd’s killing — Carlos Ortiz of Bristol, the city where Hernandez grew up. He was charged as a fugitive and agreed to return to Massachusetts, authorities said.
Authorities have not spelled out the connection they believe Wallace and Ortiz have to the killing. They have said Lloyd was killed by two shots fired from someone standing above him, but they have not said who they believe pulled the trigger.
Ortiz was being held on $1.5 million bail. His public defender declined comment on Thursday.
Prosecutors say that text messages — including from Lloyd to his sister when he was worried about his safety — and surveillance video are part of their case against Hernandez. The judge who denied his second request for bail, Renee Dupuis of Superior Court in Fall River, described the state’s case as “circumstantial but very, very strong.”
Prosecutors said they had uncovered four new pieces of evidence in less than 24 hours after searching a condo leased by Hernandez. They said they had found ammunition, a clip and a picture of Hernandez with a Glock handgun.
William McCauley, an assistant district attorney, also said that Hernandez had interfered with the investigation by home surveillance-camera video and instructing his girlfriend not to talk to investigators.
“The evidence of his guilt is overwhelming,” prosecutor William McCauley said.
Hernandez’s lawyers argued that he deserved bail because of his upstanding character and clean record, and because he was not a risk to flee. They noted that he stayed put last week, when rumors circulated that Hernandez was about to be arrested.

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Boy, this dude is some piece of work!

He sure is..feel for anyone that came across his path..feel for die hard NE fans...

Find a creep, sign him to a multi-million dollar contract, let the youth of America idolize him.  

Nama wrote:Find a creep, sign him to a multi-million dollar contract, let the youth of America idolize him.   

Although sadly, it's NOT just the 'youth'.

Wrapitup wrote:

Nama wrote:Find a creep, sign him to a multi-million dollar contract, let the youth of America idolize him.   

Although sadly, it's NOT just the 'youth'.

Completely agree! And sadly it's not just the youth as Wrap said. 
Look at how much these athletes are paid or they win a athletic scholarship but yet some lack so much in education it's so obvious! It's flippin' time that this is looked at! There have been so many arrested for violence with the athletes! Just ticks me off.

Never forget Michael Vick!  He's a total creep and still hauling in the bucks. When you're in the public eye you should be held to some sort of standard or kicked to the curb if you can't behave........never, ever to come back again. One chance is all they should have.

Amen!

They make me sick! And, how can we forget 'Tiger'? Even though he didn't kill anyone he killed his marriage and made a mockery of all the women he had.

Former Friend Says Aaron Hernandez Shot Him
People have forgotten about Alexander Bradley. He is the man who says he was shot in the face by Aaron Hernandez after a night out at the strip club. One again, it is innocent until proven guilty, but maybe Hernandez was so sloppy with leaving evidence because he had shot people for years and got away with it. Bradley’s lawyer believes when Hernandez allegedly shot Bradley, it was supposed to be a fatal bullet.
Bradley lost his right eye and some use of his arm and hand. If you are wondering why Hernandez wasn’t arrested for that, it was because Bradley wouldn’t cooperate with police. He is lucky to be alive today.
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One again, it is innocent until proven guilty wrote:

Am CERTAIN they meant 'once again.'
My son says that of all the murders, the athletes are in the minority. Ya, well they make gazillions and are suppose to be role models.

Geraldo Rivera expounds on Aaron Hernandez, the NFL and gangs
Geraldo needs to get some facts straight, though.

By SIMON SAMANO – June 28, 2013 at 10:54pm EDT

Fox News contributor Geraldo Rivera on Friday used Aaron Hernandez’s arrest for the murder of Odin Lloyd as the basis to expound on a gang culture that he believes exists in the NFL.

Only problem is that what Geraldo talked about doesn’t really relate at all in this case. Here’s what he had to say about Hernandez on Fox and Friends:

“Ironically a college classmate at the University of Florida of Tim Tebow — ironic, why? Because Tim Tebow, probably the most religious, straight-shooting ballplayer in the league. And Aaron Hernandez, a kid, an ex-hoodlum. You can take the kid out of the hood; you can’t take the hood out of the kid. He was a Bristol Blood, he was a gang banger. Pictures of himself holding a gun and so forth. He just never walked away from a  beef. … Now Aaron Hernandez could well be, as the New York Post suggests, the first serial killer from the NFL.”

That’s how Geraldo opened his segment (of course Tim Tebow just had to be brought up!). Here’s how he closed it — and this is where he starts incorrectly typecasting Hernandez and getting a couple other facts incorrect:

“I don’t know why the league who recruits these kids from the inner city, how they don’t have minders, how the agents who are collecting 10 percent of $40 million, where are they in all of this? Why aren’t they mentoring these young men who are fatherless, many of them — Ray Lewis and all the rest of them. Michael Vick. Uh, you can count them. There’s a ton of them. They sign them because they’re superb athletes and do nothing at all to preserve their character and to put them on the right road toward manhood. It’s really pathetic.”

What did Geraldo get wrong here?

1. Since when did the NFL start recruiting? This isn’t college.

2. Hernandez is not “one of these kids from the inner city”; he’s from a middle-class area of the suburb of Bristol, Conn. Hernandez might have had ties to the Bristol Bloods gang, but he’s not from the inner city.

3. Agents’ commissions are capped at 3 percent. And while Hernandez did sign a $40 million contract last year, he wasn’t paid all of it upfront. So, no, his agent never collected “10 percent of $40 million” — not even close.

4. It’s a stretch to refer to Hernandez as a young man who is “fatherless.” While his father died when he was 16, Hernandez had a close relationship with him until then as he told USA TODAY Sports’ Kelly Whiteside back in 2009.

Look, it’s not that Geraldo’s view of the NFL is necessarily wrong; the continued abundance of player arrests is troubling. But the stuff he brings up just doesn’t apply to Hernandez.

You can watch Geraldo’s segment here.
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Thanks to Pro Football Talk for alerting us to Geraldo’s comments.

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Can't stand Geraldo!!!!!! MOO.

    

Originally Published: July 1, 2013
By Ashley Fox | ESPN.com

Branch Stunned By Hernandez Charge
The New England Patriots seem to be trying to do the right thing. Now.

Now that they know Aaron Hernandez has been accused of executing an associate. Now that their star tight end is behind bars facing murder and weapons charges, denied bail and awaiting a trial that likely won't start until next year.

Hernandez is worthless to the Patriots now, and the organization is going to great lengths to disassociate itself from him. Less than two hours after his arrest last week, New England cut Hernandez and removed his jersey from its pro shop at Gillette Stadium. This weekend, the Patriots will allow fans to exchange any Hernandez jersey that was bought at the stadium for another of equal value at no charge. Out with Hernandez, and in with Tim Tebow.

But it isn't that simple and can't be that neat. New England has acted wisely and admirably in the immediate aftermath of this heinous story, but it can't be forgotten that New England was the organization that employed Hernandez. The Patriots chose Hernandez. Not once. Twice. They were the team that decided, since Hernandez had fallen into the fourth round of the 2010 draft, that the value of taking Hernandez trumped the risk of selecting a player with character issues.

They were the team that picked Hernandez 113th overall -- after 31 other teams had repeatedly passed on a player who was viewed as a first-round talent -- because he was big and strong and could catch the football and make their team better.

And the Patriots were the team that renegotiated Hernandez's rookie contract -- a deal that was laden with financial incentives geared to encourage him to behave -- two years before it was set to expire. They were the ones who gave Hernandez a five-year deal worth $37.5 million, including a $12.5 million signing bonus.

The Patriots financially rewarded Hernandez because he had produced and, with Rob Gronkowski, gave the team the most potent, productive tandem of tight ends in the National Football League.

Given what Hernandez now is accused of in a story that gets more grisly by the day, New England tarnished its brand by choosing Hernandez twice, and it will take more than a jersey exchange to wipe that tarnish away. It will take time. And better choices. And fewer risks.

The team can try to collect and burn every No. 81 jersey it has sold, but it can't erase the fact that Hernandez wore a Patriots jersey for three seasons. Hernandez was part of the Patriot Way that seems to have gone awry.

Team owner Robert Kraft is to blame. So is coach Bill Belichick. They made the choice to gamble on Hernandez, and while they could not have foreseen that one day their star tight end would be charged with murder as well as five gun-related offenses, they knew he had issues, including reported multiple failed drug tests while Hernandez was at Florida.

Kraft is one of the most respected owners in the NFL, yet his organization -- his brand -- is now indelibly tarnished. He did the right thing once Hernandez was arrested, something Dallas owner Jerry Jones hopefully noticed, given Jones' refusal to part ways with Josh Brent. But for Kraft, it was too little, too late.

NFL teams go to great lengths to investigate prospects before either drafting them or signing them. Most employ skilled, veteran security personnel. The NFL is big business. And some teams are more willing than others to employ young men who have sketchy pasts as long as the player has talent and can produce on the field.

Kraft must now make sure that his franchise doesn't select players or gamble in the draft just because the Patriots hope the value outweighs the risk. It is going to take time, but the Patriots must be more selective, more cautious.

Former Patriots offensive tackle Matt Light told the Dayton Daily News last week that he "never embraced, never believed in anything Aaron Hernandez stood for." If Light could come to that conclusion based on his interaction as a teammate of Hernandez's, certainly the Patriots' brass could have done the same, if they would have allowed themselves to not be blinded by Hernandez's talent and the relentless pursuit of another Lombardi trophy. New England can and will overcome this, but there will forever be a stain on the franchise that neither the swift release of Hernandez nor the exchange of jerseys can erase. Odin Lloyd is dead. He was buried on Saturday. Hernandez is in jail awaiting trial. There undoubtedly are more gruesome details to come.

Hernandez was part of the Patriot Way because he could catch passes and make the team more successful. The franchise, led by Kraft, needs to recalibrate and be more selective going forward, starting now.

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07/02/2013
 
Authorities are again asking for the public’s help in locating a piece of a car mirror connected to the killing of Odin L. Lloyd, an investigation that has led to murder charges against former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez and the arrest of two of his alleged accomplices.

Lloyd, 27, of Dorchester, was shot to death June 17 in a North Attleborough industrial park. Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter’s office alleges that Hernandez orchestrated Lloyd’s execution.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held without bail at the Bristol County Jail.

Shortly after Lloyd was murdered — and before Hernandez was identified as a suspect in his killing — authorities appealed to the public for help in locating the piece of mirror. On Monday, with all three men allegedly connected to Lloyd’s death in custody, they renewed that appeal.

“The police are asking for the public’s help in locating the broken drivers side rear view mirror of this Silver/Grey 2013 Nissan Altima,’’ North Attleborough police and Sutter’s office said in a joint appeal Monday.

Prosecutors have alleged that Hernandez and two men went to Lloyd’s home on Fayston Street in Dorchester early in the morning of June 17 and then drove in a rented Nissan Altima down to the industrial park. After Lloyd was murdered, the other three men allegedly drove to Hernandez’s home on Ronald C. Meyer Drive in North Attleborough.

Authorities asked the public to look for the mirror along the route the four men traveled that morning.

“This mirror maybe found in a wooded or secluded area, somewhere close to the route from Fayston Street in Boston down Route [Interstate] 95, to Ronald C. Meyer Drive in North Attleboro,’’ officials wrote.

Hernandez’s alleged accomplice, according to Sutter, was Ernest Wallace, 41, of Miramar, Fla., who is expected to be in Attleboro District Court later this week to face an accessory after murder charge.

Carlos Ortiz, 27, the other person allegedly in the car, has pleaded not guilty to unlawful carrying of a firearm and is currently behind bars pending a dangerousness hearing for July 9.

Neither Ortiz nor Wallace is charged with murdering Lloyd.

The investigation is ongoing, according to Sutter’s office.

On Monday, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson said Hernandez is “acclimating very well” at the jail. “He does not appear to be nervous.”

Authorities at the jail today reviewed Hernandez’s classification as a prisoner, and gave him some access to common areas in his unit when they are vacant, said Hodgson. Hernandez is not yet permitted to have direct contact with other pretrial detainees, as the famous former professional athlete slowly adjusts to prison life, he said. His status will be reviewed again in a week.

Officers at the prison have reviewed Hernandez’s tattoos for evidence of gang ties, as is customary with incoming prisoners, Hodgson said. He would not reveal what the review found.

Hernandez is also being investigated for a July 2012 double homicide in Boston’s South End in which two men died in a drive-by shooting, law enforcement officials have told the Globe.

And he is being sued in federal court in Florida by a Connecticut man who claims Hernandez shot him in the face in February after an argument at a Miami strip club. Hernandez had not yet filed a response to the lawsuit today.

In related news, police in Bristol, Conn., confirmed today that they have assisted Massachusetts investigators in executing three search warrants in the various investigations of Hernandez.

Police assisted in the search of a home at 114 Lake Ave., as well as the search and seizure of a silver Chrysler 300 that believe to be linked to Lloyd’s murder in North Attleborough, said Bristol Police Lieutenant Kevin Morrell.

The department also assisted with a search warrant and vehicle seizure at the behest of Boston police. That search also occurred at 114 Lake, and involved seizing a silver Toyota SUV, he said.

The Globe has previously reported that police believe that the Toyota is linked to the July 2012 double slaying in Boston.

As of Tuesday, Massachusetts law enforcement officials had not requested assistance with any other search warrants in Bristol. However, Morrell said, cooperation remains robust between Bristol police and Massachusetts investigators.

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07/03/2013 5:41 PM
By Mark Arsenault and Wesley Lowery, Globe Staff

A State Police search of an apartment maintained by former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez a dozen miles from his home uncovered numerous boxes of firearm ammunition and a hooded white sweatshirt possibly worn by Hernandez on the night prosecutors allege he orchestrated the killing of an acquaintance, Odin Lloyd, according to documents on file at Wrentham District Court.

Hernandez has been charged with murder in Lloyd’s slaying, and two associates, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, face charges in connection with the investigation. Authorities say they have recovered videotape from several security cameras that show Hernandez, Wallace, and Ortiz picking up Lloyd at his home on Fayston Street in Boston early in the morning on June 17, and then driving into a North Attleborough industrial park, where Lloyd’s body was discovered later that day.

“This sweatshirt is consistent in color and type with the sweatshirt that Hernandez is observed to be wearing on surveillance cameras the night of the homicide,” State Police wrote in an affidavit.

The late June searches at the apartment on Old West Central Street in Franklin found five boxes of .45-caliber ammunition, which is the caliber used to kill Lloyd, as well as rifle ammunition and one box of .22-caliber ammunition.

Investigators also found a hat Hernandez may have worn on a night out with Lloyd at a Boston nightclub several days before the murder, and a valet parking ticket from a hotel within walking distance of the nightclub, according to court documents.

The items were among those noted in search warrant “returns,” documents that list what police find in a search.

Ortiz apparently helped lead police to the Franklin apartment, according to the affidavit. Ortiz told police on June 25, the day before Hernandez was arrested, that he was with Hernandez on the day of Lloyd’s murder. He also told them that Hernandez, who lived at a sprawling home in North Attleborough, had another address “that not many people know about,” according to an affidavit.

It wasn’t clear why Hernandez maintained a second residence about 12 miles, or 20 minutes by car, from his home.

“Ortiz stated that on the night after the incident, Hernandez and Ortiz stopped by this apartment location,” and Ortiz apparently forgot his cellphone there, according to the documents.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held without bail at the Bristol County Jail.

Wallace, 41, of Miramar, Fla., is in custody and expected to be in Attleboro District Court later this week or next week on an accessory after murder charge. Ortiz has pleaded not guilty to unlawful carrying of a firearm and is currently jailed pending a hearing July 9.

Also today, Gainesville, Fla., police released the police report of a 2007 double shooting outside a nightclub for which multiple members of the University of Florida football team – including Hernandez – were questioned.

Although the report has remained sealed due to the investigation’s ongoing nature, Gainesville police posted it to their website after inadvertently fulfilling a public records request for it that was filed by ESPN.
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Hernandez, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, has long refused to comment on the shooting, which occurred just months after he had arrived at the university’s Gainesville campus. His name does not appear in the redacted version of the report, but the report’s interview log shows that only one juvenile was interviewed as part of the investigation.

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July 10, 2013
 
Aaron Hernandez is the one who fired the fatal shots, an alleged accomplice has told investigators, according to court documents released Tuesday.

A fuller picture of the case against former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez is emerging after the release of two sets of court documents Tuesday.

An associate of Mr. Hernandez who was with him the night that Odin Lloyd, a semiprofessional football player, was shot and killed in an industrial park near Hernandez’s house told investigators it was Hernandez who fired the shots that killed Mr. Lloyd, according to court documents obtained by the Associated Press.

Prosecutors have said publicly that Hernandez was with two other men, Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, in the early hours of June 17, the day Lloyd is believed to have been killed. Surveillance videos show them picking up Lloyd and driving to an industrial park where Lloyd’s body was later found. But investigators have not publicly said who they think fired the shots that killed Lloyd, saying only that Hernandez “orchestrated” the slaying.


"All we've done is charge is Aaron Hernandez with murder," Samuel Sutter, district attorney for Bristol County, Mass., said Monday. "As far as the specifics about who was the shooter and who might have been a joint venturer, it's too early to say. The investigation is ongoing."

According to court documents, Mr. Ortiz told investigators that Hernandez said to Lloyd during the drive to the industrial park that Lloyd had been "chilling" with people Hernandez had problems with. Ortiz told police the two men shook hands and the problem seemed smoothed over. But the car soon stopped, and everyone but Ortiz got out to urinate, according to Ortiz's account.

Somebody who happened to be in the area told police he then heard gunshots before Hernandez and Mr. Wallace got back in the car without Lloyd and the car sped away, according to the documents.

Ortiz said he couldn't see who fired the shots because it was dark. But he told investigators that Wallace said it was Hernandez who fired the shots.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in Lloyd's killing. Wallace faces an accessory to murder charge in the case and has pleaded not guilty. Ortiz is charged with illegal possession of a firearm and is being held in jail without bail.

The court documents also show that a vehicle wanted in a 2012 double killing in Boston was rented in Hernandez’s name. Last month, The Boston Globe reported that unnamed law enforcement officials said they believe Lloyd may have known about the earlier shooting, giving Hernandez motive to want him silenced.

The documents that contain the above information and that were obtained by the Associated Press were filed by the Miramar (Fla.) Police Department to gain a search warrant for a house in that city where Wallace’s mother lives.

Separately, the Attleboro District Court in Massachusetts unsealed 156 pages of court records Tuesday, revealing more details about investigators' interactions with Hernandez before he was arrested and charged with murder on June 26. 

Hernandez was “argumentative” and unresponsive when police told him they were investigating, according to the documents. 
“Mr. Hernandez did not ask officers whose death was being investigated,” state police wrote in their report. “Mr. Hernandez’s demeanor did not indicate any concern for the death of any person.”
“What’s with all the questions?” Hernandez asked, before slamming the door to his house and locking it behind him, the documents state.

Hernandez then opened the door and gave police his lawyer’s business card, police reported in the documents.

Hernandez came out later and agreed to be questioned at a police station. 

According to the documents, Hernandez also called his girlfriend's cellphone and stopped her from speaking with police after they pulled her over and told her Lloyd was dead. 

Among the items police said they seized from Hernandez were .22 caliber ammunition, a BlackBerry phone, three Apple iPads, and an Apple iPhone. They also seized clothes similar to those shown in the surveillance video inside Hernandez’s home. 

Hernandez came to the New England Patriots from the University of Florida as a fourth-round draft pick in 2010, and in 2012 he signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the team. The Patriots announced that he had been cut 90 minutes after his arrest.
“No one in our organization was aware of any of these kind of connections. If it’s true, I’m just shocked,” owner Robert Kraft said earlier this week. “Our whole organization has been duped.”

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What a complete POS. MOO.

July 24, 2013
Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is reportedly the focus of a case being presented to a Massachusetts grand jury involving a 2012 double homicide in downtown Boston.

MyFoxBoston.com, citing an unnamed law enforcement official, reported that prosecutors are presenting evidence in the double-murder case to a Suffolk County Grand Jury.

Two men died in the shooting in Boston's South End on July 15, 2012, and another was wounded. Witnesses reported seeing gunfire coming from a gray SUV with Rhode Island license plates.

Authorities said 29-year-old Daniel Jorge Correia de Abreu and 28-year-old Safiro Teixeira Furtado were killed, but police didn't identify the third victim.

The official told MyFoxBoston.com that investigators believe Hernandez and the shooting victims were at the same Boston night club before the fatal altercation.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in the shooting death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, whose body was found June 17 not far from Hernandez's North Attleborough, Mass., mansion. His defense team has called the case circumstantial and said Hernandez looks forward to clearing his name.

A prosecutor with the Bristol County district attorney's office has said that a man who matched the description of a man seen on video with Hernandez on the night of Lloyd's murder was seen putting a gun under a car during the Rhode Island incident.

Boston police made a connection between Hernandez and the 2012 double murder after the former NFL star came under scrutiny in Lloyd's killing, The Boston Globe reported.

An attorney for Hernandez did not return the newspaper's emails or messages requesting comment on the grand jury report.

Boston police declined to comment to the Globe on the report. A spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, who is overseeing the investigation, also declined to comment.

“The grand jury proceedings are by their nature confidential, and we do not comment on them or on open investigations,” Jake Wark, Conley’s spokesman told the newspaper

Hernandez is due back in court Wednesday for a probable cause hearing. He is being held without bail at Bristol County House of Corrections.

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By MICHELE McPHEE
BOSTON July 24, 2013

Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez appeared in court today to hear prosecutors claim they have found additional evidence that Hernandez murdered his friend, but during the hearing detectives seized the cell phone of Hernandez's cousin, ABC News has learned.

The cousin, Tanya Singleton, shared a home with Ernest Wallace, who is charged as Hernandez's accomplice in the June 17 murder of Odin Lloyd.

A third man, Carlos Ortiz, is also charged in the murder.

After today's hearing, a Massachusetts state trooper assigned to the Hernandez case approached Singleton in court, handed her a search warrant, and seized her cell phone.

As she reviewed the warrant in the court hallway, Singleton told ABC News "I am not talking about it."

Hernandez's longtime girlfriend Shayana Jenkins added, "Get away from us. We're not talking."

Investigators later executed a search warrant at Singleton's Bristol, Conn., address, several sources told ABC News.

A spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney's Office, Gregg Miliote, declined to provide details, saying: "I cannot comment on an ongoing investigation."

Singleton's husband, Thaddeus Singleton III, 33, was being sought for questioning as a potential witness in connection with the Hernandez case, but he died in a car crash before detectives could speak with him.

Hernandez appeared in court today wearing a tailored suit and white button-down shirt with his hands cuffed in front of him. The former NFL star nodded to Singleton, who sat with Jenkins, the mother of his infant daughter, in the back of the court.

The women had to walk wordlessly past the Lloyd family, who cried at some points during the hearing. The Lloyd family wore buttons emblazoned with his face over the words "Rest Easy Big O." Jenkins' sister Shanea was Lloyd's girlfriend at the time of his murder.

During the court hearing, prosecutors said that the motive for Lloyd's murder could center around what the victim knew about a double homicide in Boston in 2012.

Bristol County Assistant District Attorney William McCauley told the judge that the state needs additional time to present mounting evidence in front of the grand jury.

During his argument, he cited new evidence in the case, saying that Hernandez's fingerprint was recovered from a box of .45 caliber ammunition found in a "flophouse" Hernandez rented in Franklin. Another Hernandez fingerprint was lifted from the gearshift of a Hummer registered to the ex-NFL player, where investigators recovered a fully loaded .45 caliber clip inside.

Lloyd, 27, a semi-pro football player, was shot five times with .45 caliber handgun in an industrial park less than a mile from the $1.2 million mansion in North Attleboro Hernandez shares with Jenkins. Singleton has lived there since her cousin's arrest on June 26.

A judge granted the state's request and ordered that a probable cause hearing on the evidence be moved to Aug. 22.

Attorneys for Hernandez, who has denied the charges, were furious that the delay was granted. Lawyer James Sultan told the judge that his client has been "sitting in a solitary cell" at the Bristol County Correctional Center. Sultan said Hernandez wants to hear the evidence against him.

"The sooner the better," Sultan told the court.

Outside the courthouse another Hernandez attorney Charles Rankin told reporters that his client was "extremely upset" at the hearing delay.

"We are confident that Aaron will be exonerated,'' Rankin said.

Wallace, like Hernandez, has pleaded not guilty. It's not clear if Ortiz has entered a plea.

District Court Judge Daniel O'Shea also ruled on motions filed by the press to release search warrants relating to the Hernandez investigation. Those documents will be released tomorrow afternoon, the judge ruled.

Before the hearing, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the team will learn from "this terrible experience."

"We'll continue to evaluate the way that we do things, the way that we evaluate our players and we'll do it on a regular basis," Belichick said. "I'm not perfect on that, but I always do what I think is best for the football team."

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What a bunch of thugs.......and the women are standing by their men. Isn't that special! It makes me want to  .

I so agree with you!

Me 2! Can't imagine 'standing by anyone' w/this much evidence. I think it's all about the mighty  

I keep forgetting to tell you how much I love your avatar Wrap!

Thanks! In fact, thank FB!

July 29, 2013

Prosecutors believe they have images of Aaron Hernandez holding the gun used to kill Odin Lloyd. They’re now trying once again to find the gun itself.

According to WFSB-TV, authorities are searching Pine Lake in Bristol, Connecticut for the .45 caliber handgun.

The development comes only days after authorities searched the Bristol, Connecticut home of Hernandez’s uncle for a second time.

Carlos Ortiz reportedly told police that he and Wallace returned to the uncle’s home the day after the murder. Apparently, someone thinks that someone threw the gun into Pine Lake.

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August 05, 2013

Prosecutors have given Aaron Hernandez's attorneys surveillance video from outside a Boston nightclub where he and his friend allegedly had a dispute a few days before the friend was killed.

Defense attorney James Sultan says he received a "substantial amount" of material Monday. Prosecutors turned over most of it ahead of a brief court hearing in Massachusetts on preserving the evidence.

Hernandez, the former New England Patriot, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old Boston semi-professional football player whose body was found June 17 near Hernandez's home in North Attleborough, Mass.

Prosecutors say Hernandez orchestrated Lloyd's killing because he was upset at him for talking to some people at the club a few nights before Lloyd was killed.

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August 20, 2013

A gun found during a traffic accident investigation two months ago has been linked to a 2012 double slaying that police are investigating in connection with Aaron Hernandez, law enforcement sources said Tuesday.

After a June 21 four-vehicle crash on Interstate 91 in Springfield, Massachusetts, Jailene Diaz-Ramos, 19, was taken to a hospital. During a search of her vehicle -- which is customary when a car is towed from a crash scene -- Massachusetts State Police found a firearm and several rounds of ammunition, according to the incident report.

The gun's ballistics match the markings on the bullets found after two men were killed outside a Boston bar last year, two law enforcement sources said.

The evidence has been presented to a grand jury hearing details of the double homicide, a law enforcement source said.

Diaz-Ramos was not licensed to carry the weapon and was charged with possession of a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a license and improper storage of a firearm, the incident report said.

When asked, the teenager told police the .38-caliber weapon belonged to her boyfriend and that "he was the last one to use the car to visit a football player," according to a law enforcement source with knowledge of the case. It's unclear if she named the football player.

Hernandez, a former New England patriot tight end, is being investigated in connection with the double killing in Boston's South End, law enforcement sources said.

Diaz-Ramos' connection to Hernandez is unclear, but she and her boyfriend are both from Bristol, Connecticut, Hernandez's hometown, police say.

The teenager was released on bail after her initial appearance at Springfield District Court, according to police.

In June, law enforcement sources said they believe Hernandez, 23, rented a silver SUV with Rhode Island registration that was linked to the scene of the double homicide. Police searched for the vehicle for almost a year before locating and impounding, the source said.

Separately, Hernandez is accused with the killing of friend Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semipro football player whose body was found in an industrial park less than a mile from Hernandez's home. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty.

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A Massachusetts grand jury has indicted former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez on a first-degree murder charge in the death of a man whose bullet-riddled body was found in an industrial park near his home.

The grand jury returned the indictment Thursday. It charges Hernandez with the killing of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s girlfriend.

Hernandez pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges in June. His lawyers say the case against him is circumstantial and they’re confident he will clear his name. He’s being held in jail without bail.

Prosecutors say Hernandez orchestrated Lloyd’s killing because he had talked to people Hernandez had problems with at a nightclub.

Hernandez could face life in prison if convicted.

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