Report: Pats TE Directly Tied To Homicide
BOSTON (CBSMiami) – New England Patriots tight end has allegedly been directly tied to the homicide of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd in Massachusetts, according to Fox 25 in Boston.
Hernandez's name came up in the investigation earlier this week and since then police in the area have been putting the former Florida Gators star under increasing scrutiny.
According to Fox 25, Hernandez and Lloyd were together at a bar the night of Lloyd's death along with two other men. The Fox 25 report said it's unknown what happened between the bar and Hernandez's home, but only three men got to the tight end's house and "Lloyd was not one of them."
CBSBoston.com also reported that the Bristol County district attorney's office is currently looking for a silver mirror in connection to the death that is believed to have come off a vehicle. CBSBoston.com reported that Hernandez was previously named in a Providence, R.I. police report regarding a nightclub disturbance in May and that a gun, which wasn't his, was recovered at the scene.
Hernandez starred at the University of Florida during the days of national championships and Tim Tebow. Hernandez's stock plummeted heading into the 2010 NFL Draft due to concerns about his character including marijuana use while at UF.
According to SI.com, scouts said they had off-field concerns about Hernandez, including questions about alleged gang activity of some of Hernandez's associates in Bristol, Connecticut, Hernandez's home town. But the tight end seemed to shake off most of the criticism and turn into a rising start with the Pats.
The Patriots thought enough of Hernandez's ability and production in his first three years to reward him with a seven-year, $41.115 million contract with $16.4 million guaranteed to the former Gator.
Police have already searched Heranndez's home once and left with a box full of things from inside the home, according to CBSBoston.com.
Besides the possible skirmish in Providence, one of Hernandez's most recent problem since signing his lucrative second NFL contract came in South Florida.
A lawsuit was filed last week against Hernandez that accused the tight end of having a gun that went off and shot Alexander Bradley in the face. Bradley claims the shot caused him to lose his right eye.
In Bradley's lawsuit against Hernandez, he accused Hernandez of failing to use the gun in a proper manner, possessed the gun without a legal license, and failed to be properly trained in the use of firearms, and was reckless.
Bradley's case was declared closed on Monday, but according to his attorney, David Jaroslawicz, said the case was dismissed due to a mistake in the paperwork and the case was being re-filed as early as Wednesday, according to a report from profootballtalk.com.
The alleged incident between Bradley and Hernandez allegedly occurred outside Tootsie's strip club.
In 38 games, the 6-foot-1, 245-pound Hernandez has 175 receptions for 1,956 yards and 18 touchdowns. He missed 10 games last season with an ankle injury and had shoulder surgery in April, but is expected to be ready for training camp. The Patriots have not said which shoulder was operated on.
