Report: Pats TE questioned in probe

[boozeman]

Tim Tebow’s Former Teammate Charged With Murder

Sports News in Brief •

• Jun 27, 2013



FRAMINGHAM, MA—Adding yet another wrinkle to the football player and media sensation’s eventful offseason, authorities confirmed today that a former teammate of New England Patriots quarterback Tim Tebow has been arrested and charged with murder.

“While this is a highly sensitive matter, I can confirm that [Tebow’s former teammate] has indeed been taken into custody,” said Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Timothy P. Alben, referring to the individual who reportedly knows Tim Tebow, has talked to Tim Tebow, and has spent time in the same locker room as Tebow following the deeply religious quarterback’s release from the New York Jets earlier this year.

“As our probe is ongoing, we will have no official comment on [the man who played football with former University of Florida standout Tim Tebow, who continues his rollercoaster journey through the National Football league this year—a journey beset with NFL experts and fans constantly asking this question: Is Tim Tebow an NFL quarterback? And if not, is he capable of playing another position? And if not, does he belong in the league at all?]’s role in the investigation at this time.”

When questioned by reporters, Alben was unable to provide an answer on how Tebow’s physical style of play and experience running the wildcat package would mesh with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s longstanding emphasis on the passing game.

 

[boozeman]

Pats exchange more than 2,500 Hernandez jerseys

Posted by Mike Florio on July 8, 2013, 7:45 PM EDT


It was a busy two days for the Patriots ProShop at Gillette Stadium. Per a team spokesman, the official number of Aaron Hernandez jerseys returned by customers exceeded 2,500.

Between 30 and 35 percent of the jerseys exchanged were youth models. The Patriots established the program primarily to give parents the opportunity to replace for their children the Hernandez jersey with a jersey belonging to a different player.

Earlier in the day, owner Robert Kraft pegged the number at roughly 2,500 in a meeting with reporters from ESPNBoston.com, the Boston Globe, and the Boston Herald.

The cost of the exchange program has been conservatively estimated at $250,000. It’s unclear whether that’s the out-of-pocket expense to the Patriots from trading new jerseys for the exchanged Hernandez jersey, or the lost revenue resulting from the reality that the fan who exchanged the Hernandez jersey won’t be paying the retail cost for a new one.

The most popular replacements were Vince Wilfork, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Chandler Jones, and Stevan Ridley. Wilfork was the top choice for the jersey exchanges.

The jersey material will be recycled, and the two-day program officially has ended.

Meanwhile, some of you have asked whether the Patriots will discourage fans from wearing Hernandez jerseys to home games. We’re told that no effort will be made by the team to dissuade fans from wearing their Hernandez jerseys.

Other Patriots fans may choose to do some dissuading, hopefully without crossing any lines that would dissuade security from allowing the fans to stay in the stadium.

And I’ve now dissuaded myself from using the term dissuade for the next month or so.

 

[Cotton]

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer1m
It's interesting too that Hernandez referred the police to his attorney before the police informed him they were investigating a death.

 

[Bob Roberts]

I don't blame him for that. Don't tell the cops jack shit without an attorney.

 

[dallen]

Albert Breer ‏@AlbertBreer1m
It's interesting too that Hernandez referred the police to his attorney before the police informed him they were investigating a death.

I don't think it is that interesting. If I could afford to have a lawyer on retainer I'd always refer the police to them

 

[Carp]

ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was "argumentative" and slammed the door on police during their first encounter following his friend's death, according to court records.

Hernandez was later accused of orchestrating the man's death in an industrial park near Hernandez's home.

According to an affidavit attached to search warrants unsealed Tuesday, Hernandez approached police after he noticed them parked outside his North Attleborough home on June 17, the day Odin Lloyd's body was found.

Police said they asked him about an SUV he had rented. Hernandez told them he rented it for Lloyd and had last seen him in Boston the day before, the documents said.

The affidavit then said Hernandez became argumentative, asked "what's with all the questions?" and locked the door of his house behind him.

He then returned with his attorney's business card, and didn't respond when police told him they were investigating a death.

"Mr. Hernandez slammed the door and relocked it behind him," the records read. "Mr. Hernandez did not ask officers whose death was being investigated. Mr. Hernandez's demeanor did not indicate any concern for the death of any person."

Hernandez came out about 10 minutes later and agreed to be questioned at a police station, according to the documents.

Police have a video from security camera on Fayston Street showing Lloyd getting into a silver Nissan Altima matching a car Hernandez rented on June 17. When officers searched the Nissan Altima believed to have been driven on the night Odin Lloyd was killed they found a bullet underneath a child's drawing. Hernandez told police he rented a car for friend "O."

Hernandez is being held without bail after pleading not guilty to murder in the killing of Lloyd, whose bullet-ridden body was found in an industrial area near Hernandez's North Attleborough home.

Lloyd's body found with his wallet a cell phone, $64.75 in cash and two sets of keys for a black Chevy Suburban. The last call to Lloyd's phone was from Ernest Wallace, who is an accessory to murder at 2:32 a.m. Less than an hour later, Lloyd sent his last text to his sister about being with "NFL."

Hernandez's attorneys have said the evidence against him is circumstantial and that the tight end is anxious to clear his name. Despite all of the searches, police acknowledge they have not recovered the .45 gun used to kill Lloyd.

Eight search warrants for Hernandez's home, several cars, his phones and security system were unsealed Tuesday after news organizations sought access to the records. A judge had granted the media requests on Monday.

The search warrants, which number more than 150 pages, reveal the breadth of the investigation, with authorities scouring through everything from Hernandez's house to the contents of his team locker, which the Patriots had emptied into a container.

Police wanted to search Hernandez's locker for evidence of firearm purchases or any documents connecting him to Lloyd. It appears nothing was found.

According to the warrants, police confiscated two cell phones, three iPads, a video camera and hard drive from Hernandez's home.

The documents show that inside a safe in the Hernandez home, police found a scale and a dish used to weigh drugs. They also found a box of "Game Loads" .22 bullets and 33 bullets for a rifle.

Hernandez and Lloyd were at Rumor nightclub in Boston the Friday night before his murder. A worker at the nightclub told police that Hernandez had a handgun visible from his waistband. Hernandez and Lloyd got so drunk that night they never made it back into Hernandez's house and slept outside instead.

The records also detailed a discussion police had with Hernandez's girlfriend, Shayanna Jenkins, after she dropped him off at the police station.

Police said they pulled her over and she immediately burst into tears when she heard Lloyd was dead. She later told them she had last seen him two days earlier, according to the documents. She told police that Lloyd was a marijuana dealer.

She also said she had been out to a Father's Day dinner with Hernandez on June 16, but they returned home early and she went to bed. She said Hernandez was away that night and she didn't know who he was with.

The records said Jenkins then received a call from Hernandez, who told her his agent had advised him to tell her not to speak to police.

Also Tuesday, a man who faces a gun charge in the case agreed to remain in jail until a hearing next month.

Carlos Ortiz, 27, appeared in Attleboro District Court, where a hearing to determine if he is a danger to the community was scheduled for Aug. 14. If Ortiz is determined to be dangerous, he can be held without bail for 90 days.

Ortiz is from Hernandez's hometown of Bristol, Conn., and was with Hernandez when they picked up Lloyd the night he was killed.

Another man who was with Hernandez that night, according to police, pleaded not guilty Monday to an accessory to murder charge in the case. Ernest Wallace, 41, of Miramar, Fla., will be held without bail until another hearing on July 22, under an agreement between his attorney and prosecutors.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[Smitty]

I don't blame him for that. Don't tell the cops jack shit without an attorney.

Agreed.

 

[Bob Roberts]

Agreed.

I change my mind.

 

[Smitty]

Documents: Hernandez told pal he fired fatal shots

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) — A man linked to the murder case against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez told police Hernandez admitted firing the fatal shots, and a vehicle wanted in a double killing in Boston a year before had been rented in Hernandez's name, according to documents filed Tuesday in Florida that provide the most damning evidence yet against the star athlete.

The documents say Hernandez associate Carlos Ortiz told Massachusetts investigators that another man, Ernest Wallace, said Hernandez admitted shooting semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd in an industrial park near Hernandez's home in North Attleborough. The documents were filed in court by the Miramar, Fla., police department to justify a search of Wallace's home in that city.

The documents also say that while investigating Lloyd's killing, police did searches in Hernandez's hometown, Bristol, Conn., that turned up a vehicle wanted in connection with a July 2012 double homicide in Boston. Police say the vehicle had been rented in Hernandez's name.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in Lloyd's killing. His legal team did not return email messages Tuesday.

Prosecutors say Hernandez, Wallace and another man drove with Lloyd to an industrial park where Lloyd was fatally shot.

Ortiz told police that, after picking up Lloyd, the four men headed back to North Attleborough. Along the way, Hernandez told Lloyd that Lloyd had been "chilling" with people Hernandez had problems with, the documents said. But Ortiz told police that the two men shook hands and the problem seemed smoothed over. But soon the car stopped, and everyone but Ortiz got out to urinate, according to Ortiz's account.

The witness also told police he then heard gunshots before Hernandez and Wallace got back into the car without Lloyd and the vehicle sped away.

Wallace faces an accessory to murder charge in the case and has pleaded not guilty.

Meanwhile, eight search warrants were unsealed in Massachusetts after news organizations sought access to the records. The warrants reveal the breadth of the investigation, with authorities scouring through everything from Hernandez's house to his phone to the contents of his team locker, which the Patriots emptied into a container after they released him.

Police seized a rifle and ammunition found in Hernandez's home.

According to the documents, Hernandez became "argumentative" during his first encounter with police at his home following Lloyd's death. He asked, "What's with all the questions?" and locked the door behind him.

He then returned with his attorney's business card but didn't respond when police told him they were investigating a death.

"Mr. Hernandez slammed the door and relocked it behind him," the records read. "Mr. Hernandez did not ask officers whose death was being investigated. Mr. Hernandez's demeanor did not indicate any concern for the death of any person."

Hernandez came out later and agreed to be questioned at a police station, according to the documents.

The documents also say Hernandez called his girlfriend's cellphone and stopped her from speaking with police after they pulled her over and told her Lloyd was dead.

___

Anderson reported from Miami. Associated Press writers Bridget Murphy in Attleboro and Jay Lindsay in Boston contributed.

 

[Smitty]

This is too big to embed, dammit.

http://imageshack.us/a/img594/3896/9bq.gif

 

[1bigfan13]

Hard to believe the Pouncey twins thought it would be a good idea to sport "Free Hernandez" hats.

I thought they were supposed to be a couple of intelligent guys.

 

[Carp]

Later today I will have a press conference addressing my team selecting Hernandez in the Mayock.

 

[mcnuttz]

Going forward, the Mayock Invitational should probably employ a law officer trained in gang affiliated tattoos.

 

[Cotton]