According to multiple reports, New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is the subject of an arrest warrant for obstruction of justice in the death of Odin Lloyd.
WBZ is reporting that Hernandez has been served with the warrant while ABC News is reporting that the paperwork for Hernandez's arrest is being prepared.
However, the Attleboro (Mass.) Clerk of Court told CBSSports.com's Will Brinson that a warrant has not been issued.
"We have nothing issued from this court right now," the court official told CBSSports.com.
Meanwhile a court official noted to CBSBoston that some search warrants do not need to be filed electronically before they have been served. That official also said it was possible the document could have been filed at a different court.
Reportedly, Hernandez and Lloyd were together at a bar, along with two others, the night Lloyd died. Tim Williams of Pittsburgh's KDKA Radio reported Thursday afternoon that surveillance footage showed Hernandez, Lloyd and two others in a rental car hours before the murder.
Lloyd, shot in the head, later was found in a field close to Hernandez's home. Lloyd had reportedly been dating the sister of Hernandez's girlfriend.
ABC News previously reported that police were back at Hernandez's home Thursday with a search warrant, looking for answers to a few questions, including the following:
- Why the home's security system (including video surveillance) was intentionally destroyed.
- Why Hernandez's cell phone was "in pieces" when his attorneys gave it to investigators.
- Why house cleaners were hired Monday to scrub the house.
Though no arrest warrants have been issued, WBZ also reports that a clerk magistrate confirmed that three search warrants for personal property have been issued in this case.
On Thursday, Hernandez became a media spectacle after media trailed him to Patriots headquarters and then swarmed him at a gas station after he left Gillette Stadium. But according to a Boston Herald report, Hernandez won't be returning there anytime soon, because he was asked to leave the facility by the team.
Hernandez, 23, was allowed in the building, but staff was waiting for him and instructed him to leave, the source told the Herald.
Patriots spokesman Stacey James would only say that he had no idea why Hernandez came to the Foxboro stadium yesterday.
- See more at: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/06/source_aaron_hernandez_barred_by_patriots?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bostonherald%2Fsports%2Ffootball+%28Patriots+%26+NFL+-+BostonHerald.com%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#sthash.AjB2OKLt.dpufFrom the newspaper: "Hernandez, 23, was allowed in the building, but staff was waiting for him and instructed him to leave, the source told the Herald. Patriots spokesman Stacey James would only say that he had no idea why Hernandez came to the Foxboro stadium yesterday."
Friday's news continue a strange saga in this case in which Hernandez has gone from playing a seemingly minor role in the investigation to having a warrant issued for his arrest.
- On Tueday, it was reported that Hernandez had been questioned by police, but he was not believed to be a suspect of any kind. At that point, the reports were that Lloyd might be an associate of Hernandez's.
- On Wednesday, Hernandez was not ruled out as a suspect, and the vehicle that was rented in his name had become a major piece of the investigation. After searching his home Tuesday, police returned Wednesday, but Hernandez was not home at the time. Hernandez's attorney, Michael Fee, also released this statement: "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. 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."
- News also emerged Wednesday that Hernandez was to be sued by a man he allegedly shot in the face last February.
- On Thursday, reports emerged that Hernandez was "directly tied" to the homicide. "[Hernandez] has not been ruled out. We are not calling him a suspect, but he is definitely not in the clear," a police official close to the investigation told ABC News.
- There were also conflicting reports on whether Hernandez would be arrested. Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated reported that Hernandez had been involved in at least two other gun-related incidents. One reportedly occured last May in Providence when a Jets fan confronted Hernandez and police later found a gun under a car (though it was unclear whose gun it was), and the other occurred in 2007 when he was questioned by police regarding a shooting that happened after a Florida-Auburn game (Hernandez was not considered a suspect in that case).
Hernandez, 23, was allowed in the building, but staff was waiting for him and instructed him to leave, the source told the Herald.
Patriots spokesman Stacey James would only say that he had no idea why Hernandez came to the Foxboro stadium yesterday.
- See more at: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/06/source_aaron_hernandez_barred_by_patriots?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bostonherald%2Fsports%2Ffootball+%28Patriots+%26+NFL+-+BostonHerald.com%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#sthash.AjB2OKLt.dpuf
