Fiancee: Aaron Hernandez Was Intoxicated Hours Before Odin Lloyd Murder
FALL RIVER (CBS/AP) — The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has testified in his murder trial that he was intoxicated in the hours before the killing of her sister's boyfriend.
Shayanna Jenkins, 25, was granted immunity by the court in February, which means she can be compelled to testify or face time behind bars. There had been a question about whether prosecutors would call Jenkins, who has been in a relationship with Hernandez, 25, since high school and is the mother of his 2-year-old daughter.
Read: Aaron Hernandez Juror Dismissed
During her afternoon testimony, Jenkins admitted that while Hernandez was meeting with police hours after Odin Lloyd was killed, she drove to meet up with Hernandez's co-defendant Ernest Wallace.
Jenkins testified that Hernandez gave her an exit number, told her to meet Wallace and give him money.
The prosecution asked if Jenkins had ever been to East Greenwich, R.I., and she responded "Not to my knowledge." Records show Jenkins went to an ATM there and withdrew $500.
Jenkins was shown text messages between her and Hernandez.
In the message from Hernandez, he tells Jenkins to "Go in back of the screen in the movie room when you get home" and goes on to reference a time his fiancee "ruined that big TV."
When she texted Hernandez back, Jenkins said "Ok...that was awful...Perfect tv...Love u."
Jenkins told the court during her Friday testimony that she did not know what Hernandez meant in the message he sent her.
Earlier Friday, lawyers began by questioning Jenkins about the delivery of a Toyota Camry to the couple's home. Prosecutors have alleged the car was shipped to Massachusetts with guns in the trunk of the vehicle.
Jenkins also testified that she recalled finding a gun in the "junk drawer" of the kitchen in the home where she and Hernandez lived in North Attleboro.
Though Jenkins said she did not recall if she and Hernandez had any conversation about the gun, she added that she gave him a "stern look" after discovering it.
When asked if she ever smelled marijuana inside her home, Jenkins said yes and added that Hernandez and Wallace smoked in the basement.
Prosecutors showed surveillance video that appeared to show Hernandez smoke marijuana in their driveway before the couple left for a Father's Day dinner. Jenkins said Hernandez smoked marijuana on a daily basis.
When asked if Hernandez drove home drunk from the Father's Day outing, which was just hours before Lloyd was murdered, she said Hernandez was "kind of intoxicated I guess."
Several times during her testimony, Jenkins said she could not recall information being asked of her.
At about 4 p.m. Garsh concluded Jenkins' testimony for the day.
After the jury left the courtroom, Jenkins' attorney requested her client's testimony be suspended.
During a heated exchange with Garsh and prosecutors, she said the testimony is taking too long. Garsh told the attorney that if Jenkins is not in court on Monday she will be held in contempt.
About an hour before the start of her testimony in front of jurors, Jenkins took the stand first without the jury present to be questioned by attorneys about statements she previously made in front of a grand jury.
During that time, Jenkins told the court about a conversation she had with Hernandez after Lloyd was murdered.
She testified that she asked Hernandez if he murdered Lloyd. She told the court Hernandez said "no" and the conversation ended.
Judge Susan Garsh ruled that prosecutors may ask Jenkins about the gun she saw in their home, but she cannot be asked about other guns in the home. Garsh also limited the scope of what prosecutors can ask Jenkins on other topics.
According to WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Doug Cope, Jenkins arrived at the courthouse at about 8:40 a.m.
Jenkins has pleaded not guilty to perjury. Prosecutors say she lied to a grand jury investigating the June 17, 2013, killing of Odin Lloyd, 27, who was dating her younger sister, Shaneah. Lloyd was found shot to death at an industrial park less than a mile from the home that Jenkins and Hernandez share.
The sisters introduced Lloyd and Hernandez in 2012, during a game at Gillette Stadium.
Shayanna Jenkins has been coming to court sporadically and sitting behind Hernandez, whispering "I love you," to him and occasionally joking with him. She has not appeared in court since March 6. That day, she was not wearing a large diamond engagement ring that she usually wore.
On Friday, Jenkins was said to be wearing the ring as she entered the courtroom.
Meanwhile, Shaneah Jenkins sits with Lloyd's mother and other family members. When Shaneah was called to testify earlier in the trial, Shayanna scribbled notes and then passed them to Hernandez's lawyers, occasionally sighing as her sister spoke.
Surveillance video played for the jury showed Shayanna removing from their home a garbage bag with what appeared to be a box inside. Prosecutors said before the trial that they believe the box contained the murder weapon, which has never been found.
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