New charge for ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez
BOSTON - Former New England Patriots player and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez is facing another criminal charge: witness intimidation, prosecutors said Monday.
Hernandez was convicted last month of killing Odin Lloyd, who was dating his fiancee's sister, in June 2013. He also faces two counts of murder in Boston, where he is accused of gunning down two men in 2012 after one caused him to spill his drink at a nightclub.
A grand jury indicted Hernandez on Friday on the latest charge, according to the office of Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley. It said the victim of the intimidation was a witness to the Boston killings, which happened on July 16, 2012.
"Hernandez allegedly shot him in the face on the morning of Feb. 13, 2013, and left him to die on the side of the road in Riviera Beach, Florida, after the witness made a remark about the homicides," the office said in a news release.
Hernandez's lawyers didn't immediately return a message seeking comment on the new charge.
The district attorney's office did not identify the witness, but it is clear from several other court proceedings that it is former Hernandez friend Alexander Bradley.
Bradley has sued Hernandez in Florida, saying that on Feb. 13, 2013, he, Hernandez and two other men went to a strip club in Miami. According to court papers, the two men got into an argument at the club and then again later. Prosecutors in the Lloyd case said in a filing made during that trial that Bradley then made "disrespectful remarks" about Hernandez.
"Shortly thereafter, the car pulled over in an isolated industrial area, where Bradley was shot between the eyes. The defendant exited the car and quickly dumped Bradley's body on the ground before fleeing the scene," a filing from the Bristol district attorney's office said.
Bradley was found soon after by people who worked in the area and survived, although he lost an eye. He refused to cooperate with police at the time and no charges were brought in Florida.
While the shooting happened in Florida, Conley's office said that Hernandez may be prosecuted in Massachusetts because he is accused of willfully causing injury to a witness with the intent to impede a criminal investigation in Suffolk County.
Hernandez is serving a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole for Lloyd's killing. The witness intimidation charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
An arraignment has not yet been scheduled for the witness intimidation charge. A hearing on the murder charges is scheduled for May 21, although Hernandez is not expected to be in court.