Aaron Hernandez's Own Cameras Capture Him With 'Gun' Minutes After Shooting
ATTLEBORO, Mass. July 25, 2013 — -- Accused killer Aaron Hernandez was captured on his own home surveillance cameras holding a large caliber firearm in the minutes after his friend was shot dead, according to court documents released today.
Prosecutors added that they found a spent .45 caliber shell casing in a car rented by the former New England Patriots star that matched the five bullets found in the body of murder victim Odin Lloyd.
The documents were released by Massachusetts investigators today.
"Interior surveillance footage shows Aaron Hernandez pass through the living room area of the residence while holding an item, identified by investigators being consistent with a firearm," according to a search warrant affidavit released by the Attleboro District Court today.
"Aaron Hernandez is observed on the surveillance video moving the item believed to be a firearm between his hands as he passes through the living room,'' the affidavit stated.
The photographs were taken inside his home and recovered from the 14 surveillance cameras Hernandez had throughout his $1.2 million mansion in North Attleboro, Mass. Hernandez, prosecutors said, had tampered with the cameras but investigators were able to retrieve photographs.
The pictures helped police build a timeline allegedly leading to the murder of Lloyd, 27, a semi-pro football player whose body was found less than a mile from Hernandez's home. He was shot five times with a .45 caliber handgun.
Hours before the June 16 slaying, Hernandez sent a text message to Lloyd that read: "I'm coming to grab that tonight. U gon b around I need dat and we could step for a little again."
Hernandez's surveillance cameras showed him leaving his home at 1:12 a.m. with two other men, who police and prosecutors identified as Ernest Wallace, 41, and Carlos Ortiz, 27. Wallace has been charged in connection with Lloyd's murder and Ortiz was arrested on firearms charges.
Hernandez and Wallace have denied the charges. It's not clear if Ortiz has entered a plea.
At 2:09 a.m., a security camera at a Blue Hill Avenue gas station in Boston showed Hernandez purchasing a cigar and Bubble Yum Cotton Candy flavored gum after filling the tank of a silver sedan, according to court documents.
Roughly 20 minutes later the men pick up Lloyd at his home, according to video recovered from Boston Police cameras.
At 3:20 a.m., the silver sedan was captured driving into an industrial park, near the Hernandez home, where Lloyd was killed, according to a search warrant affidavit.
"This vehicle entered the crime scene at 3:23 a.m. on Monday June 17, 2013," the affidavit states. "The time of this activity is consistent with the reports of employees at an adjacent business who heard gunshots."
The surveillance photos of Hernandez back in his home and holding what appears to be a pistol were taken at 3:33 a.m., the police document states.
Hernandez was arrested on murder and weapons charges June 26 and has been held in a solitary confinement cell at Bristol County Correctional Center in Dartmouth since. He was in court for a probable cause hearing Wednesday, but the hearing was delayed until Aug. 22.
After that court appearance Hernandez's cousin, Tanya Singleton, was served with search warrants for her Bristol, Conn., home and her cell phone was seized, ABC News reported.
