Hernandez faces new charge
Former New England Patriots player and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez has been charged with trying to silence a witness in a double murder case against him by shooting him in the face and leaving him for dead, prosecutors in Boston said.
Hernandez was indicted Friday by a grand jury on a charge of witness intimidation, according to the office of Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley. It’s the latest criminal charge against the former star tight end, who once had a $40-million contract with the Patriots.
The 25-year-old Hernandez was convicted last month of killing Odin Lloyd, who was dating his fiancee’s sister, in June 2013. He also faces two counts of murder in Boston, where he is accused of gunning down two men in 2012 after one caused him to spill his drink at a nightclub.
The latest charge is connected to the Boston killings. The Suffolk County DA’s office said the victim of the intimidation was a witness to those killings, which happened on July 16, 2012.
“Hernandez allegedly shot him in the face on the morning of Feb. 13, 2013, and left him to die on the side of the road in Riviera Beach, Florida, after the witness made a remark about the homicides,” the office said in a news release.
The office did not identify the witness, but it is clear from several other court proceedings that it is former Hernandez friend Alexander Bradley.
Bradley has sued Hernandez in Florida, saying that on Feb. 13, 2013, he, Hernandez and two other men went to a strip club in Miami. According to court papers, Hernandez and Bradley got into an argument at the club and then again later. Prosecutors in the Lloyd case said in a filing made during that trial that Bradley then made “disrespectful remarks” about Hernandez.
“Shortly thereafter, the car pulled over in an isolated industrial area, where Bradley was shot between the eyes. The defendant exited the car and quickly dumped Bradley’s body on the ground before fleeing the scene,” according to a filing from the Bristol district attorney’s office.
Cornerback Kyle Arrington was released by the Patriots. He spent the last five seasons in New England, playing in two Super Bowls. The Patriots also signed former USC tight end Fred Davis, a six-year veteran with the Washington Redskins who was suspended for the 2014 season for violations of the league’s substance-abuse policy.
Britain’s Mark Cavendish earned his second straight win over Peter Sagan of Slovakia and extended his race lead in the second stage of the Tour of California in Lodi.
Cavendish, who rides for the Etixx-Quick Step team, earned his 11th win of the season with a late surge in the 120.4-mile road stage from Nevada City in 4 hours 47 minutes and 2 seconds.
Sagan again bolted to the front of the mass sprint, but he was passed by Cavendish by a quarter-wheel. Wouter Wippert of the Netherlands finished third in the stage. Cavendish, who has 130 career victories, leads Sagan by eight seconds in the eight-day race. American Rob Carpenter is third overall, 11 seconds behind.
Gilles Simon of France took advantage of a few key double-faults by Jack Sock and rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 win in the opening round of the Italian Open in Rome.
John Isner eliminated Joao Sousa of Portugal, 7-5, 6-3, and Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany beat Donald Young, 6-4, 6-1.
Fabio Fognini, Italy’s highest-ranked male at No. 31, won a night match over Steve Johnson, 7-6 (0), 6-3.
On the women’s side, Venus Williams, the 1999 Rome champion, beat Czech qualifier and teenager Katerina Siniakova, 6-2, 6-2; and 15th-seeded Madison Keys defeated Madison Brengle, 6-2, 6-4.