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| Aaron Hernandez's lawyers argue one of three murder charges be dropped | Aaron Hernandez's lawyers argue one of three murder charges be dropped |
| (2 months later) | |
| Attorneys for Aaron Hernandez argued on Monday that one of the three murder charges against him should be dropped, as the former NFL player pleaded not guilty to separate charges that he threatened to kill a guard while in a county jail in Massachusetts. | Attorneys for Aaron Hernandez argued on Monday that one of the three murder charges against him should be dropped, as the former NFL player pleaded not guilty to separate charges that he threatened to kill a guard while in a county jail in Massachusetts. |
| Hernandez, a former tight end for the New England Patriots, is facing three first-degree murder charges in two separate Massachusetts trials. Hernandez is accused of killing semi-professional football player Odin L Lloyd, 27, inNorth Attleboroughin June 2013, and was indicted for a Boston double murder in May. | |
| Fall River courtjudge Susan Garsh on Monday scheduled a fall start for Hernandez’s trial for Lloyd's death. | |
| One of Hernandez’s three-member defense team said the murder charge should be dropped because prosecutors presented prejudicial evidence to the grand jury that indicted Hernandez, and there’s no evidence to indicate he pulled the trigger. | One of Hernandez’s three-member defense team said the murder charge should be dropped because prosecutors presented prejudicial evidence to the grand jury that indicted Hernandez, and there’s no evidence to indicate he pulled the trigger. |
| “I think the grand jury could find based on all the evidence … that Mr Hernandez was present when Mr Lloyd was killed, but that was not enough to make him culpable, to inculpate him, as a voluntary deliberate participant in that killing,” said defense attorney Jamie Sultan. | “I think the grand jury could find based on all the evidence … that Mr Hernandez was present when Mr Lloyd was killed, but that was not enough to make him culpable, to inculpate him, as a voluntary deliberate participant in that killing,” said defense attorney Jamie Sultan. |
| Hernandez was with two associates at the time of Lloyd’s murder at an industrial park less than a mile from Hernandez’s home. Carlos Ortiz, 28, and Ernest Wallace, 42 were initially charged with accessories to murder, but charges have been upgraded to first-degree murder. | Hernandez was with two associates at the time of Lloyd’s murder at an industrial park less than a mile from Hernandez’s home. Carlos Ortiz, 28, and Ernest Wallace, 42 were initially charged with accessories to murder, but charges have been upgraded to first-degree murder. |
| Sultan said the evidence against Hernandez was prejudicial, and based on his propensity to commit the crime, not hard evidence. | Sultan said the evidence against Hernandez was prejudicial, and based on his propensity to commit the crime, not hard evidence. |
| “Stuck with a case where they didn’t have direct evidence of culpability, the commonwealth took a whole bunch of stuff that was intended to besmirch Mr Hernandez’s character, showed him to be essentially a violent person who liked guns, who used marijuana, who was not a law-abiding kind of a person, essentially as a substitute for evidence that he committed the crime,” said Sultan. | “Stuck with a case where they didn’t have direct evidence of culpability, the commonwealth took a whole bunch of stuff that was intended to besmirch Mr Hernandez’s character, showed him to be essentially a violent person who liked guns, who used marijuana, who was not a law-abiding kind of a person, essentially as a substitute for evidence that he committed the crime,” said Sultan. |
| However, prosecutors said that same evidence points to a pattern of behavior. | However, prosecutors said that same evidence points to a pattern of behavior. |
| Hernandez, they said, was involved in four separate violent incidents after leaving clubs. In one such incident, Hernandez allegedly shot a former close associate in the hand and dumped him in an industrial park. That associate, Alexander Bradley, 31, is facing firearms charges of his own after allegedly shooting up a Hartford, Connecticut, nightclub. | Hernandez, they said, was involved in four separate violent incidents after leaving clubs. In one such incident, Hernandez allegedly shot a former close associate in the hand and dumped him in an industrial park. That associate, Alexander Bradley, 31, is facing firearms charges of his own after allegedly shooting up a Hartford, Connecticut, nightclub. |
| “There were remarkable similarities between what happened with Alexander Bradley and what happened to Odin Lloyd,” said prosecutor William McCauley. “[Bradley] testified that to the circumstance. There was no motivation for him to have acted in his way … This happened spontaneously … He, the defendant, felt disrespected.” | “There were remarkable similarities between what happened with Alexander Bradley and what happened to Odin Lloyd,” said prosecutor William McCauley. “[Bradley] testified that to the circumstance. There was no motivation for him to have acted in his way … This happened spontaneously … He, the defendant, felt disrespected.” |
| Hernandez, prosecutors said, organized the rendezvous with Lloyd and later displayed guilty behavior. | Hernandez, prosecutors said, organized the rendezvous with Lloyd and later displayed guilty behavior. |
| “The defendant had the relationship with the victim, who had this prior incident, who made all the arrangements to get [the victim] there, he was the one who set the thing up, drove him there, brought it to its completion,” said McCauley. | “The defendant had the relationship with the victim, who had this prior incident, who made all the arrangements to get [the victim] there, he was the one who set the thing up, drove him there, brought it to its completion,” said McCauley. |
| The former player appeared calm during the proceeding, asking some questions of his attorney Charles Rankin. | The former player appeared calm during the proceeding, asking some questions of his attorney Charles Rankin. |
| Garsh heard a raft of legal issues Monday. She scheduled the trial to start on October 6, and will weigh whether to dismiss a murder charge, and whether to admit electronic evidence that defense attorneys say was improperly obtained. | Garsh heard a raft of legal issues Monday. She scheduled the trial to start on October 6, and will weigh whether to dismiss a murder charge, and whether to admit electronic evidence that defense attorneys say was improperly obtained. |
| She is expected to issue a written opinion on both motions. Garsh put off signing a defense subpoena to the New England Patriots, after attorneys said their requests for information had been practically ignored by the franchise. | She is expected to issue a written opinion on both motions. Garsh put off signing a defense subpoena to the New England Patriots, after attorneys said their requests for information had been practically ignored by the franchise. |
| Hernandez was also arraigned in a misdemeanor assault and battery case, after allegedly attacking a handcuffed inmate at the Bristol County Jail, where he has been in custody since July 2013. He pleaded not guilty to two charges. | Hernandez was also arraigned in a misdemeanor assault and battery case, after allegedly attacking a handcuffed inmate at the Bristol County Jail, where he has been in custody since July 2013. He pleaded not guilty to two charges. |
| Aside from motions to dismiss and suppress evidence, prosecutors face other challenges. The murder weapon, believed to be a .45-caliber Glock handgun, was never recovered, and gaps exist in surveillance footage from Hernandez’s home. | Aside from motions to dismiss and suppress evidence, prosecutors face other challenges. The murder weapon, believed to be a .45-caliber Glock handgun, was never recovered, and gaps exist in surveillance footage from Hernandez’s home. |
| Prosecutors said they believe Hernandez’s fiancee disposed of the weapon. A loaded Glock clip was found in a Hummer SUV owned by Hernandez. In that clip was ammunition from five different manufacturers. Shell casings from four of those five manufacturers were found at the scene, including one under the front passenger seat of a sedan rented by Hernandez. | Prosecutors said they believe Hernandez’s fiancee disposed of the weapon. A loaded Glock clip was found in a Hummer SUV owned by Hernandez. In that clip was ammunition from five different manufacturers. Shell casings from four of those five manufacturers were found at the scene, including one under the front passenger seat of a sedan rented by Hernandez. |
| Issues heard by Garshrefer to are only one of two murder cases pending against Hernandez. He was indicted in the July 2012 double murder of two Boston men. Prosecutors said Hernandez stalked, ambushed and shot to death two men at a stoplight in Boston. |