Hernandez faces murder charge

Former New England tight end Aaron Hernandez (left) stands with attorney Michael Fee during arraignment on murder charges in Attleboro (Mass.) District Court on Wednesday.
Former New England tight end Aaron Hernandez (left) stands with attorney Michael Fee during arraignment on murder charges in Attleboro (Mass.) District Court on Wednesday.

ATTLEBORO, Mass. - New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder in the shooting death of a friend prosecutors say had angered the football player at a nightclub a few days earlier by talking to the wrong people.

Hernandez, 23, was taken from his North Attleborough home in handcuffs just over a week after Boston semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd’s bullet-riddled body was found in an industrial park about a mile away.

Less than two hours after the arrest, the Patriots announced they had cut Hernandez, a 2011 Pro Bowl selection who signed a five-year contract worth $40 million last summer.

Lloyd, 27, played for the Boston Bandits and was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee. He was shot repeatedly in the back and chest, authorities said.

Hernandez “orchestrated the crime from the beginning,” prosecutor Bill McCauley said.

If convicted, Hernandez could get life in prison without parole.

“It is at bottom a circumstantial case. It is not a strong case,” his attorney, Michael Fee, said at a court hearing during which Hernandez was ordered held without bail on murder charges and five weapons counts.

Lloyd’s family members cried and hugged in the courtroom as the prosecutor 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, he answered, at 3:22 a.m., “NFL.” Then, a minute later, he added “Just so you know.”

Within a few minutes, 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.

Hernandez had recently installed a surveillance system and had 14 cameras inside and outside the house, according to McCauley, who said detectives found footage missing from the six or eight hours after the slaying.

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

As he was led from his home in the morning, Hernandez was wearing a white V-neck T-shirt with his arms inside the shirt and behind his back. He spit into some bushes on his way to a police cruiser.

Later, as he was taken from the North Attleborough police station to court, two dozen supporters cheered with some yelling, “We love you, Aaron!”

“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 announcing he had been cut. “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 Patriots drafted Hernandez, who is originally from Bristol, Conn., in 2010 out of the University of Florida, where he was an All-American. During the draft, one team said it wouldn’t take him under any circumstances, and he was passed over by one club after another before 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.

In other off-the-field troubles, a Florida man filed a lawsuit last week claiming that Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued at a strip club in February.

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

At a glance

NOTABLE NFL ARRESTS

New England tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with murder and weapons counts Wednesday in the slaying of a Massachusetts man. Soon after he was arrested, Hernandez was cut by the team. The NFL put out a statement after the Patriots released Hernandez but took no action. The following is a look at some other notable criminal cases involving NFL or former NFL players, along with the league’s actions if they were active:

MICHAEL VICK Suspended indefinitely without pay by Commissioner Roger Goodell in 2007 after Vick pleaded guilty to dog fighting conspiracy. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison. A week after being released from federal custody July 20, 2009, and having been released by the Falcons, he was conditionally reinstated by Goodell. Less than three weeks later, he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and played his first regular-season game in nearly three years on Sept. 27 of that year.

ADAM “PACMAN” JONES The cornerback was suspended by Commissioner Roger Goodell for the 2007 season under the league’s personal conduct policy after multiple arrests while playing for the Tennessee Titans. Now with the Cincinnati Bengals, he has been in and out of legal trouble, with at least seven arrests over the years and involvement in about a dozen incidents that included police intervention. He recently pleaded not guilty to an assault charge after police say he hit a woman at a nightclub.

If he is found guilty or accepts a plea bargain, he would be subject to another NFL suspension.

RYAN LEAF After four unproductive and injury-plagued seasons in the NFL from 1998-2001, the quarterback was out of the league and ran into legal problems involving drugs. Last year, he pleaded guilty to burglary and drug possession and was given a five-year jail term. In January, he was moved from a drug treatment center to state prison in Montana for threatening a staff member and violating his treatment plan.

RAY LEWIS The Ravens’ star linebacker and two companions were indicted in 2000 on murder and aggravated assault charges following the stabbing deaths of two people after a Super Bowl party in Atlanta. The linebacker’s lawyers negotiated a plea bargain in which the murder charge was dropped in exchange for his testimony against the two others charged in the case. Lewis was sentenced to one year of probation.

His two companions were acquitted in June 2000. Lewis was fined $250,000 by the NFL. The next season, he was voted Super Bowl MVP when the Ravens beat the Giants in the league’s championship game.

ART SCHLICHTER The Colts’ quarterback was suspended indefinitely in 1983 by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle for gambling on NFL games a year earlier. The quarterback was reinstated for the 1984 season, but later admitted gambling while under suspension. He was released five games into the 1985 season. In 1987, he pleaded guilty to illegal gambling and Rozelle did not reinstate him after Schlichter applied for permission to re-sign. Last year, he was sentenced to 10 years, seven months in prison for his involvement in a million-dollar ticket scam.

O.J. SIMPSON One of the NFL’s top running backs in 1970s with the Buffalo Bills, Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman after one of the most publicized criminal trials in history. In 1997, a civil court awarded a judgment against him for their wrongful deaths, but little of the $33.5 million penalty has been paid.

In 2008, Simpson was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping and must serve the first nine years of a 33-year sentence without a chance of parole.

Sports, Pages 17 on 06/27/2013

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