When arraigned on his latest collection of criminal charges in a Boston courthouse on Wednesday afternoon, former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez will formally hear that he has been indicted for the July 2012 murders of Safiro Furtado and Daniel Abreu. But Hernandez will hear more than that.
Albert Breer of NFL Network, citing the Suffolk County District Attorney, reports that Hernandez also will be charged with three counts of armed assault with intent to murder, and that he will be charged with a count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The seven total charges all arise from the allegation that Hernandez fired bullets into the automobile in which the deceased and others were sitting on the evening in question, after leaving a Boston nightclub.
The authorities apparently became aware of Hernandez’s role in a case that was growing cold last June after the murder of Odin Lloyd. With Lloyd unable to testify in connection with the Furtado and Abreu murders, another guy who allegedly was once shot by Hernandez, Alexander Bradley, could end up being a key witness.
Bradley sued Hernandez last year for allegedly shooting Bradley in the face in February 2013. Via CNN, Bradley allegedly was with Hernandez on the night Furtado and Abreu were shot.
Regardless of the outcome of the various charges pending against Hernandez, he stands accused of committing at least three murders while playing for an NFL team. As NFL crime sprees go, it’s unprecedented. Even if his lawyers find a way to conjure reasonable doubt at trial as to each of the killings, it’s hard to imagine any team in the league ever taking a chance on him again.