Former Florida football player Aaron Hernandez pleaded not guilty on seven charges — including two counts of first-degree murder — during his arraignment Wednesday in a Boston courtroom.
The list of allegations, rattled off by Patrick Haggan, the Suffolk County (Mass.) First Assistant District Attorney, paints a vivid picture of the night Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado were fatally wounded in a car in the early -morning hours of July 16, 2012.
Hernandez and a friend headed to the Cure Lounge in Boston’s Theatre District. They were standing on the edge of the dance floor when de Abreu — a man Hernandez had never met — bumped into him accidentally. The one-time New England Patriots star was angered when de Abreu did not apologize but merely smiled and walked away. Hernandez and his friend then left 10 minutes after arriving at the nightclub and, once outside, Hernandez’s friend attempted to calm him down because he felt he was being unfairly targeted.
They then went into a separate nightclub across the street, where Hernandez pointed out to his friend a group that entered 15 minutes later. He identified one of the individuals as the person that had spilled a drink on him earlier. Haggan said surveillance footage proves this claim as false, as de Abreu and his group did not leave the Cure Lounge until “after 2 a.m.”
Shortly after that exchange, Hernandez and his friend left to go back to the parking garage where his SUV and — coincidentally — de Abreu’s BMW were both parked. Hernandez and his friend left the garage, drove around the area, then parked on a nearby street. Once parked, Hernandez allegedly popped the hood and retrieved a .38 caliber revolver he had stashed away. At “approximately 2:10 a.m.,” de Abreu and the four people accompanying him left the Cure Lounge.
At 2:17 a.m., de Abreu, Furtado and a third person walked to the BMW. Hernandez’s SUV drove past the parking garage, slowing down as they passed the group. Three minutes later, Hernandez’s SUV passed by again as the other two people with de Abreu waited outside the parking garage to be picked up.
As the BMW left the garage, Hernandez allegedly said “there they go” and followed it. He allegedly stopped at a red light, then ran through it to catch up with the BMW. When Hernandez caught up, Haggan alleges that Hernandez leaned out of his driver’s side window, said “yo, what’s up now?” followed by a racial slur, and then fired multiple times into the car.
Haggan said a witness claimed they heard a clicking noise after at least five rounds were fired, pointing to the fact that Hernandez kept pulling the trigger after the gun was empty. De Abreu suffered a fatal chest wound, Furtado, a fatal head wound and both died at the scene. A passenger traveling in the middle seat in the back of the car suffered an arm wound but survived.
Hernandez and his friend then drove to Hartford, Conn., where Hernandez searched online for news about the shooting. They arrived there at 5 a.m. and on the way, Hernandez allegedly told his friend, “I think I got one in the head and one in the chest.”
He then phoned his cousin Tonya Singleton who drove up from Hernandez’s hometown of Bristol, Conn. She came and switched her car for the SUV they were initially driving in.
The SUV was stored in Singleton’s garage in Bristol until it was found by police while searching the home on June 26, 2013. Authorities were investigating the June 16, 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd — another case Hernandez is connected to.
The alleged murder weapon was found on June 21, 2013 after inventory was taken of the items in a vehicle involved in a collision that was driven by a Bristol resident with ties to Hernandez.
Hernandez will next appear in court in relation to the de Abreu-Furtado double-murder on June 24.
Follow Richard Johnson on Twitter @RagjUF
Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez listens to the prosecution's summary of facts as he is arraigned on homicide charges at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Wednesday. Hernandez pleaded not guilty in the shooting deaths of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. He already faces charges in the 2013 killing of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd.
