National Football League

Reports: Cops search nearby stream

Published Jun. 21, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

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THE NEWS

Police searched a body of water and an industrial park near the home of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez on Monday. The body of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits and an associate of Hernandez's, was found about a mile from Hernandez's home on June 17.

According to The Boston Globe, however, no evidence was found during Monday's search. Numerous outlets report investigators wore wetsuits and used a metal detector during the process.

Lloyd's relatives confirmed to The Associated Press that he was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee, that the two men were friends and that both men were out together on the last night of Lloyd's life.

An Attleboro District Court official said no new documents were available in connection with the case Monday morning. The Bristol County district attorney's office also didn't release any new information about the case, which their spokeswoman called "an active, ongoing investigation."

While there are conflicting reports about whether an arrest warrant has been, or will be, issued — reportedly for obstruction of justice and destroying evidence — the 23-year-old Hernandez has not been taken into custody.

"[My client is] The subject of a relentless flood of rumors, misinformation & false reports in the media. These include repeated publication of supposedly confirmed report an arrest warrant had been issued for Aaron, a report exposed as untrue," Hernandez’s attorney Michael K. Fee said in a statement. "None of false reports come from official sources and we appreciate the professionalism & restraint shown by the Bristol County DA. Out of respect for that ongoing investigation, we will continue to refrain from commenting on its substance."
 

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

• According to multiple reports, police — bringing search dogs and, later, a locksmith — arrived at Hernandez’s house Saturday around 2 p.m. ET and left around 5:30. Among their focuses, reports said, were a large playhouse in the backyard, Hernandez’s Audi SUV and a wooded area near the house. Hernandez’s lawyer, Michael Fee, arrived at the scene around 4 p.m., according to a NESN report.

• Authorities continue to investigate, but not talk about, Lloyd's death. A spokeswoman for the Bristol County district attorney's office said Sunday that officials are not releasing details. Spokeswoman Yasmina Serdarevic says officials also are not talking about Lloyd's cause of death.

• One endorsement partner has decided to part ways with the Patriots tight end. Hernandez signed a deal in August with CytoSport, which makes Muscle Milk.

“In light of the investigation involving Aaron Hernandez, CytoSport is terminating its endorsement contract with Mr. Hernandez, effective immediately,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email Friday.

• Hernandez tried to work out at Gillette Stadium on Thursday but was turned away by team staff, the Boston Herald reported.

• According to WBZ-TV, Hernandez hired the Boston law firm of Ropes and Gray.

Fee released a statement to the station on Wednesday.

“It has been widely reported in the media that the state police have searched the home of our client, Aaron Hernandez, as part of an ongoing investigation,” it read. “Out of respect for that process, neither we nor Aaron will have any comment about the substance of that investigation until it has come to a conclusion.”

• A law-enforcement official told FOX 25 that Hernandez left a Boston bar in a car with Lloyd and two other men in the hours that preceded the body’s discovery. The source told FOX 25 that Lloyd sent a text that referenced Hernandez. Three men returned to Hernandez’s home, but Lloyd was not one of them, the source told FOX 25. It’s unclear what transpired in the time between. Lloyd’s body was found near Hernandez’s home on June 17.

• ABC reports that video surveillance from Hernandez's neighborhood has been found that shows Hernandez with Lloyd and two others only hours before Lloyd's body was found.

• Thomas Moore, the manager of Rumor nightclub in Boston, told the Boston Herald that Hernandez and Lloyd were at Rumor together on June 14. Hernandez and Lloyd sat together in a VIP section at a roped-off table with several other people.

• Police searched Hernandez’s home for a second day Wednesday. Hernandez was questioned by police on June 17, SI.com reported.

• A lawsuit has been refiled in federal court in Florida in which a man alleges that Hernandez shot him in the face and caused numerous injuries which required facial reconstruction surgery. The lawsuit was originally filed June 13, but four days later, the case was dismissed because of a paperwork error, according to TMZ.

According to an AP report on Thursday, the lawsuit had been refiled. In it, Alexander Bradley claims that he and Hernandez were with a group in February at Tootsie's club in Miami when the two got into an argument. Later, as they were driving to Palm Beach County, Bradley claims Hernandez shot him with a handgun, causing him to lose his right eye. USA Today is reporting, citing a police spokeswoman, that Palm Beach County police will not be investigating if Hernandez was involved in a February shooting without the cooperation of the alleged victim. The case case could be reopened if Bradley contacted the sheriff's violent crime unit.

• Bristol District Attorney Samuel Sutter's office said investigators were asking for the public's help to find a silver mirror cover believed to have broken off a car between Boston and North Attleboro. According to the Attleborough Sun Chronicle, Massachusetts state police are looking for another rental car in connection with the homicide investigation, a silver 2013 Chrysler 300.

• FOX 25 reported that on June 18 police stopped two men who attempted to leave Hernandez's property. According to FOX 25, both men were seen later entering the local police station in North Attleboro and were later released. One of the men taken in told a FOX 25 reporter that police had confiscated his phone, and also said he knew nothing about the reported victim.

EARLIER …

• Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward, said police told her the body was that of her son. "My son is a wonderful child," she said, crying as she spoke outside the family's home in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. "He's a family guy. He hasn't done anything to hurt anyone."

• On the night of June 18, police spent hours at Hernandez’s house as another group of officers searched an industrial park where the body was found Monday. According to FOX 25, some authorities walked around Hernandez's driveway and in the garage with flashlights. Before wrapping up their work for the night, one officer took a box out of the massive house. Later Wednesday, at least seven state troopers searched both sides of a road just off the street where Hernandez lives. The officers used thin poles to pull back plants and search through undergrowth along the road.

• Sports Illustrated reported that the original link between Hernandez and the case was a rented Chevrolet Suburban with Rhode Island plates that police had been searching for.

• Hernandez is represented by the Athletes First agency, which said it has no comment "on the Aaron Hernandez situation." His mother said by phone from Connecticut on June 18 that she had no knowledge of a case involving him. "I am aware of the reports, but I do not anticipate that we will be commenting publicly during an ongoing police investigation," Stacey James said.

BACKGROUND

• North Attleboro is south of Boston on the Rhode Island state line, not far from the Patriots' stadium in Foxboro.

• The Patriots drafted Hernandez out of Florida in 2010. Since then, he has combined with Rob Gronkowski to form one of the top tight end duos in the NFL.

• In 38 games, the 6-foot-1, 245-pound Hernandez has 175 receptions for 1,956 yards and 18 touchdowns. He missed 10 games last season with an ankle injury and had shoulder surgery in April, but is expected to be healthy for training camp. The Patriots have not said which shoulder was operated on.

• Last summer, the Patriots gave Hernandez a five-year contract. It was worth $40 million, according to reports, and came just months after the team locked up Gronkowski through 2019.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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