Aaron Hernandez Due Back In Court Wednesday
ATTLEBORO, Mass. (CBSMiami/AP) — While his former teammates will be gathering for training camp, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez will make another court appearance in his first-degree murder case.
A probable cause hearing will be held Wednesday afternoon in Attleboro (Mass) District Court for Hernandez. The former NFL star pleaded not guilty to a murder charge for the death of Odin Lloyd, 27, last month.
Lloyd, a semi-professional football player, was killed at an industrial park in North Attleborough near Hernandez's home. Lloyd was shot five times. Prosecutors said Hernandez orchestrated the killing of Lloyd.
Prosecutors believe Hernandez was upset at Lloyd for talking to people Hernandez didn't like at a nightclub before the shooting. They say he and two associates, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, drove with Lloyd to the industrial park.
Authorities have not said who fired the shots, but documents filed in Florida — and released since Hernandez's last court appearance — paint the former Patriot as the triggerman. According to the records, Ortiz told police that Wallace said Hernandez fired the shots.
Wallace and Ortiz also are facing charges. Wallace pleaded not guilty to a charge of being an accessory to murder after the fact. Ortiz has pleaded not guilty to a gun charge.
But the charge in Attleboro isn't the only legal problem Hernandez is facing.
According to the Boston Globe, a Suffolk County grand jury is hearing evidence that Hernandez should be charged for the shooting deaths of two men in 2012.
The two men were shot to death in their car. Boston Police first connected Hernandez to the Suffolk County double-murder as the Odin Lloyd murder case was being built.
Incidentally, Hernandez is due in court Wednesday at roughly the same time that his former coach, Bill Belichick, is expected to meet the media for the first time at training camp.
Belichick is not expected to discuss Hernandez's case much during his press conference.
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