Hernandez to Face Murder and Weapon Charges, Bail Denied

Former New England Patriots’ player Aaron Hernandez will face six charges including murder related to the homicide of Dorchester resident Odin Lloyd.

During an arraignment hearing on June 26 at Attleboro District Court, an emotionless Hernandez stood as he was charged with first degree murder, carrying a firearm without a license,  two counts of possession a large capacity firearm, and two counts of possessing a large capacity firearm with out a FID card.

Bristol County Assistant D.A. William McCauley said that Hernandez orchestrated the murder after an incident on June 15 in a Boston nightclub where Lloyd upset Hernandez by speaking to people Hernandez had issues with.

According to McCauley, the events of June 17 started at 1:12 a.m. when Hernandez and two other people left his North Attleboro home in a rented silver Nissan Altima and drove down Route 95 towards Rhode Island before turning around towards Boston.

At 2:10 a.m., Hernandez stopped at a gas station off of Route 128 to fill up his car and pick up a pack of gum. The car then arrived at Lloyd’s home in Dartmouth Lloyd got into the Altima driven by Hernandez.

Surveillance videos obtained by the D.A.’s office shows the car driving around Boston and towards Melina Cass Boulevard where the car got back on the highway.

At 3:07 a.m., Lloyd sent a text to his sister saying, “Did you see who I am with?” This was followed by another text that said, “Hello?” at 3:11 a.m.

At 3:19 a.m., Lloyd’s sister replied, “My phone died who?” At 3:22 a.m., Odin replied, “NFL,” and later sent out another text saying “Just so you know.”

At 3:22, the car arrived at the industrial park in North Attleboro and at 3:23 a.m., the car arrived at a fork in the road where one road led to Hernandez’s home and the other was a gravel road that went to park

Between 3:23 and 3:27 a.m., prosecutors said workers in the industrial park heard gunshots. Based on the investigation, Lloyd was shot five times in a part of the industrial park designed to store gravel and sand.  Lloyd was shot three times while standing and two more times after he fell on the ground to kill him.

The prosecution is not sure if Hernandez or one of his associates were responsible for the gunshots.

By 3:29 a.m., Hernandez and two of his associates were back at his home as shown in video taken by his surveillance home system.

Inside the house, Hernandez could be seen holding a large, black semi-automatic weapon that has not been recovered. Once the three men went into the basement, the video cuts out.

Later that day, Hernandez attempted to return his rented Altima. When asked about a broken side view morrow, Hernandez claimed he knew nothing about it. An employee of the car rental dealership later found a shell casing and a gum wrapper that belonged to Hernandez.

Five additional .45-caliber shell casings were recovered from the scene of the crime by authorities. 

The tire tracks left at the scene matched those of the rented Nissan and dirt recovered from the vehicle is similar to that found at the scene of the murder McCauley said.

Michael Fee, a layer for Hernandez, called the evidence weak and circumstantial while arguing for bail. A not guilty pled was entered by the defense.

The defense also added that Hernandez was not a flight risk due to the media coverage related to his involvement in the investigation.

Judge Dan O’Shea did order Hernandez to be held without bail.  After the arraignment, Fee said that Hernandez is, “doing fine.”

At the end of the hearing, Judge O’Shea placed a gag order on both the prosecution and the defense, limiting what can be said outside of court.

Hernandez is due back in court on July 24. 

Shortly after the hearing, WCVB reported that Bristol, Conn. police arrested Carlos A. Ortiz, 27, on a fugitive from justice charge. 

Police from Bristol told the news station that they have been in contact with investigators from the Bristol County District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts.