Aaron Hernandez, the former tight end of the New England Patriots, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, along with 5 gun charges, on Wednesday, June 26th. Hernandez, and two others were accused of shooting semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd, early in the morning on June 17th.
This is an ongoing investigation, but here is what the police believed happened so far. Lloyd who is dating the sister of Hernandez’s long time girlfriend, Shayanna Jenkins, was at a nightclub in Boston on June 14th with Hernandez, when Hernandez got upset that Lloyd was talking to some people that he didn’t like. Nothing major happened that night, but 2 nights later, Hernandez texted two people and urged them to come quickly from Connecticut to Massachusetts to see him. Hernandez then texted Lloyd a few minutes later, telling him that he wanted to get together.
Hernandez, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz drove together and picked-up Lloyd at around 2:30 a.m. on June 17th. They all drove to an industrial park, where Lloyd was shot 5 times. Once in the forearm, twice in the back, and twice in the chest. It is not known at this time, who did the shooting. Nearby surveillance cameras show all 4 men together shortly before the shooting. An ammunition clip was found in Hernandez’s hummer that matched the caliber of the casings found in the industrial park where Lloyd was shot. Wallace and Ortiz were also arrested within a few days of the Hernandez arrest.
While this execution type of murder is shocking enough, Hernandez is also now being investigated for the drive-by shooting of two men, that lived in the neighborhood where Lloyd resided. This shooting happened on July 16th of last year. Apparently, Hernandez was in a group of men involved in a fight with Daniel Abreu and Safiro Furtado, the two victims. These men were shot at a red light, from a grey SUV with Rhode Island license plates. It has been reported that Hernandez was renting that vehicle at the time of the shooting. Lloyd may have known about this incident, which eventually led to his death.
I know that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but this looks very bad for the former tight end of the Patriots. Apparently the Patriots think so too. They released him about 90 minutes after his arrest. The team has even said that they don’t intend to pay him any of the remaining $5.91 million that is guaranteed in his five year, $40 million contract that he signed 3 years ago. The Patriots have even offered to exchange any #81 Hernandez jerseys returned, for a jersey of another player for free.
Ironically, the Patriots recently signed quarterback Tim Tebow, who was teammates with Hernandez on their 2008 National championship team at the University of Florida. Tebow even tried to help Hernandez get off drugs, which he turned to, after the sudden death of his father. Tebow was instrumental in the recruiting of Hernandez to Florida also. Tebow, who may have been moved to the tight end position, even before Hernandez’s arrest, looks like an even smarter acquisition now. The other Patriots’ tight end, Rob Gronkowski, has had 5 surgeries in the last year, so a back-up tight end was needed. Tebow, a devout Christian, should be getting plenty of playing time, while his former college teammate is in jail, possibly for the rest of his life, accused of murder.
This whole Hernandez situation, is both grisly and fascinating at the same time. If he did shoot those two men last July, and had gotten away with it, maybe he thought he could get away with anything. It kind of reminds me of O.J. Simpson, another former football star. He was acquitted the first time, of a double homicide, which many believe he clearly committed, but has been in jail since 2007, for an armed robbery, and won’t be up for parole until 2016. Maybe they both thought they could get away with murder, literally, and decided to commit other crimes, but the second time, they made it to the big house.
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