The Aaron Hernandez case had some movement on Monday for the next scheduled court date for a hearing and while the former Patriots tight end did not need to appear, the prosecution handed over a surveillance video from a Boston nightclub where the victim Odin Lloyd and Hernandez allegedly had a dispute before he was killed.
According to ESPN.com, the hearing had a ruling in the favor of the defense from judge Daniel O'Shea and defense attorney James Sultan said outside Attleboro District Court afterwards that the team received a "substantial" amount of materials from the prosecution and that there is plenty to look over from their side of the case. Hernandez' attorneys have described the case against the former Patriots star as circumstantial and they used that argument when they requested bail, but the judge denied that for Hernandez and now he is being held in solitary confinement.
Lloyd's body was found shot five times less than a mile from Hernandez's house in North Attleboro in an industrial park and he was arrested the following week for the murder. Hernandez was charged with first degree murder in the case and the hearing on Monday saw the judge grant a request to preserve surveillance from the nightclub and from a nearby homeowner, starting from 10 p.m. on June 14 into the early morning hours of June 15, which is when authorities say Hernandez and Lloyd were at the club.
Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder in the case and is facing possible life in prison if he is convicted at trial. Hernandez stated his innocence in a fan letter that went public online, although sources have reported that accomplice Carlos Ortiz said that he was told that Hernandez pulled the trigger. Bristol County Assistant District Attorney William McCauley described what pertained to the video and said that material included footage from the nightclub "Rumor" and surveillance footage from a nearby hotel. The video is relevant to the case because Hernandez allegedly killed Lloyd after the two had a dispute at that club in the days before he was killed.
Hernandez and two accomplices are in jail in relation to the crime, including Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, who has close ties to Hernandez through his cousin and uncle, who died in a moped crash last week. Hernandez was painted as the orchestrator of the murder by the prosecution and he is tied to the murder through text messages, video surveillance evidence, shell casings and clothing. Hernandez was also said to be agitated when the police first approached him for questioning about the case and he also told his girlfriend not to speak with police.
